What Lies Beneath
by SparklingDashofEgypt
Summary: Sequel to "Hand of Fate" Neville and the gang enter Year 2 at Hogwarts. What challenges will they face this year?
1. Dobby's Warning

Chapter 1: Dobby's Warning

The holidays so far had been quite uneventful for Neville. However, he noticed that not one owl arrived for him, even though his three friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione agreed to write to him during their holidays apart.

Which led to Neville being angry on his birthday at the end of July. Augusta had made all his favorite food for dinner, of course, but that didn't make him feel any better about not receiving birthday wishes from his friends all day. Augusta left the house to go shopping in the afternoon, leaving Neville alone to his misery.

Neville returned to his room and kicked his school trunk as he passed, groaning as pain shot up his foot. "Has everyone forgotten my birthday?" He demanded, rubbing his foot.

There was a _crack_ from behind him, making him whirl around. A house-elf stood in his room, large batlike ears drooping against his head in terror. A loincloth was tied around its waist. "Neville Longbottom!" It squeaked, bending in a deep bow. "It is an honor!"

"What are you doing here?" Neville asked curiously, moving closer. "You're Dobby, right? The house-elf for the Malfoys?"

Dobby's face fell, and he nodded, his ears flapping. "Do not tell Dobby's master Dobby is here, sir. Master asked Dobby to keep quiet."

"What did he ask you to keep quiet?" Neville asked, curious.

Dobby trembled, casting a furtive glance at a lamp on his desk. He dove for it, but Neville anticipated it and grabbed the house-elf's arm. "Don't hurt yourself, Dobby. Tell me what you can."

Dobby quivered, looking up at Neville with his large, green eyes. "Dobby has come to give Neville Longbottom a warning." He whispered.

"A warning about what?" Neville asked, his heart sinking.

"Terrible things is going to happen at Hogwarts this year." Dobby whispered, as he looked imploringly up at him. "_Neville Longbottom must not go back to school."_

Neville blanched. "What? But I have to go back, I'm a wizard. My friends-"

"Friends who don't even write to Neville Longbottom?" The elf asked, slyly.

"I expect they're-wait, how do you know my friends haven't been writing to me?" Neville asked, suspicious.

The elf slipped out of Neville's grip and darted away, pulling out a thick package of letters tied together with twine. "They're all here, Neville Longbottom. Dobby hoped that if Neville Longbottom thought his friends forgot him, Neville Longbottom wouldn't want to go back to school."

"Give me my letters." Neville snapped, taking a swipe at the letters.

Dobby dodged. "Neville Longbottom will be in grave danger if Neville Longbottom goes back to Hogwarts." Dobby looked up at him, a pleading look on his elfish face.

"I have to go back, Dobby. It's where I belong." Neville responded.

"Then Dobby must do what is right for Neville Longbottom." The elf said sadly and darted out of the room.

Neville charged after Dobby and found the elf in the dining room, levitating a tea set. "Dobby please, that's my grandmother's favorite tea set. She will kill me if it breaks."

"Neville Longbottom must promise he will not go back to school." Dobby said firmly.

"I can't…" Neville shook his head.

"Then Dobby must do what is best for Neville Longbottom." The elf snapped his fingers and the tea set fell as he disappeared. It smashed into pieces on the floor.

"Neville Frank Longbottom!" Augusta shouted, appearing in the doorway to the dining room, having just arrived home. "Why were you playing with my best tea set?"

"It w-wasn't me!" Neville insisted, horrified.

"I can fix it, but you shouldn't be playing with my valuable possessions." Augusta sighed, pulling out her wand. With a wave, the shards of china came together, repairing itself into her tea set. "But I assume the Ministry will hear about this."

"What? Oh no…" Neville moaned. "But I didn't do anything! It was Dobby the house-elf."

"Dobby? What would he be doing in our house, Neville? You are in trouble enough, you don't need to make up stories." Augusta scolded.

A barn owl swooped in through the window and dropped a parchment letter in Neville's hands before zooming off. "I expect that's from the Ministry." Augusta sighed.

Neville's hands shook as he unrolled the letter and read quickly. "I've been given a warning." He explained to his grandmother.

"Well, it could have been worse. It must be because it's your first offense." Augusta sighed. "I'm sorry I've been so busy on your birthday, Neville. I made a run to Diagon Alley to buy you a birthday present." She went into the kitchen and brought out a gray owl in a bird cage. "Happy Birthday, I thought you needed your own owl for this year." She smiled down at him.

"An owl? Wow, that's awesome! Thanks, Gran." Neville hugged her.

"We're going to be going to Diagon Alley as soon as your letter arrives for the new year. James and Molly sent letters this morning saying that we could meet there as soon as we get them." Augusta explained. "You want a snack?"

"Yes, please." Neville nodded, following his grandmother into the kitchen. He cast a glance back at the tea set now sitting on the self in the dining room. _Why would Dobby give me a warning?_ _Maybe it was Malfoy's idea of a joke. After all the elf belongs to his family._

Shrugging, Neville let it go. It wasn't his business.


	2. Flourish and Shots

Chapter 2: Flourish and Shots

A week before Neville's return to Hogwarts, his letter arrived, bearing the book list he would need for the new year. "There's a lot of Lockhart books on the list. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan." Augusta said briskly, moving over to the fireplace. "I'll see you in Diagon Alley in a bit, just stay put and wait for me."

Neville went over and took a handful of Floo powder from the jar she was offering. He nodded. Just as he threw the powder, a thump sounded at the window, causing him to inhale soot and cough out, "D-D-Diagon Alley!"

Neville spun within the fireplace rapidly, making him feel dizzy and sick. He came to a sudden, lurching stop that made him topple out of the fireplace onto a stone floor. Neville slowly got to his feet, brushing off the soot from his clothes. He looked around, realizing at once he was not at his intended destination.

The store was dimly lit and cases were all around him, filled with horrible Dark objects. A stooped elderly man was behind the counter, his back to Neville. Neville found a cabinet and opened it quietly, slipping inside.

A bell tinkled over the door and Neville opened it a crack. A tall blond male with a pale, pointed face entered the shop, followed by a son who greatly resembled him. _What is Draco doing at a Dark magic store?_ Neville thought, frowning. He listened closely, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Mr. Malfoy, what an honor!" Mr. Borgin cried, in a falsely delighted and oily tone. "Master Malfoy. How may I help you this afternoon? I just got a few things in that-"

"I'm not buying today, Borgin. I am looking to sell some things that would raise…awkward questions should the Ministry come calling to the mansion. The meaning pureblood is losing its respect these days."

"Not with I." Mr. Borgin said with a slight bow.

"Nor I." Malfoy replied with a curt bow. He handed a long parchment over to Mr. Borgin. "As you can see, there are certain poisons that would be damaging to my reputation should they be found." He explained, curtly.

"Of course I can take these at a reasonable price." Mr. Borgin said, curtly.

Neville caught sight of Draco wandering through the shop as his father haggled with the Borgin. He approached the cabinet where Neville was hidden. Just as Draco reached out for the cabinet door, Mr. Malfoy rolled up his parchment and called, "Draco, let's go. Borgin, I assume you will be stopping by soon?"

"Next week, of course, sir." Mr. Borgin bowed.

"Can I have this, Father?" Draco asked, pointing to a withered hand on a cushion near Neville's hiding place.

"Ah, your son has great tastes. That is the Hand of Glory. Place a candle in it and it gives light only to the holder. A thousand Galleons for it is practically a steal. The choice product for a thief."

"My son is not a thief. Though," Mr. Malfoy gazed coolly at his son, which made Draco turn faintly pink. "If he lets that Muggle-born continue to beat him at every test, that's all he'll be good for. Good day, Borgin."

Draco followed his father out of the shop and Borgin turned away, muttering, "If the rumors are true, that list is only half what you have, Malfoy."

As Borgin went into a back room, Neville slipped out of his hiding place and left the shop. He found himself in a street lined with stores devoted to the Dark Arts, one he recognized by reputation as Knockturn Alley.

Neville moved up the street, trying to find his way to Diagon Alley. A hand grabbed his arm and he spun around, startled. A hunchbacked old woman had a hold of his arm, grinning. "Need help there, boy?" She asked, grinning wider. "You seem lost."

"Neville? What are yeh doing here?" A booming voice demanded, startling the old woman into letting go of Neville.

Neville was relieved to see Hagrid struggling through the crowd to him. "Am I glad to see you, Hagrid. What are you doing here?"

"I was just wondering that abou' you." Hagrid chuckled darkly. "Bad idea to be caught down Knockturn Alley. The Flesh-Eating Slugs are ruining the school cabbages, so I was picking up some repellent. Let's get yeh outta here."

Neville followed in Hagrid's wake until the brightly lit Diagon Alley appeared ahead and they exited out of Knockturn Alley into the cobblestone path of Diagon Alley.

"You on yer own?" Hagrid asked. "Doubt your gran would let you go on yer own." Hagrid chuckled, leading him down the street.

"No, she sent me ahead, but something hit the window and I accidentally wound up in Knockturn Alley." Neville responded.

"Neville!" Augusta cried, exiting the Leaky Cauldron and hurrying over. Lily, James, their children, and Sirius hurried after her. "Thank you, Hagrid, for finding him. I was worried when Errol hit the window that he said it wrong and wound up in the wrong place. I hoped you just went one grate too far. Where did you wind up?"

"Knockturn Alley." Neville responded.

"Excellent." Harry said, grinning.

"I was wonderin' something, Neville." Hagrid said suddenly, looking down at him, a frown on his bearded face. "Why didn' yeh write to me this summer?"

"Yeah, you didn't write to me either!" Harry exclaimed, annoyed.

"This house-elf named Dobby was intercepting my mail and I didn't get any of your letters, sorry." Neville apologized.

"Isn't that the name of the Malfoys' elf?" James asked, straightening his spectacles.

"Yeah, and he tried to warn me not to go back to Hogwarts this year." Neville shook his head. "I wonder why he would do that."

"Well, as you know, house-elves are bound to their families and are forced to obey their orders. So I assume the Malfoys ordered him to warn you as a joke." James continued, frowning.

"We better get shopping guys, we don't have much time here." Lily reminded them, checking her watch.

"Shouldn't we wait for the Weasleys?" James asked, looking around. He spotted Mrs. Weasley hurrying along the street, ushering her husband and children after. "Sorry we're late. We had to wait until Arthur got home from work."

"Let's stop at Gringotts to get your money and then we'll go shopping." Augusta led the way to Gringotts.

A half hour later, the three families left with the money bags clanking. "Where shall we go first?" James asked, looking around.

"I think Flourish and Blotts is having a promotional event for Lockhart's books. I'd love to meet him." Mrs. Weasley giggled like a school girl.

"Good idea, he might autograph the books." Lily nodded, turning pink. James gave her a look. She cleared her throat. "Let's go over there first, then."

Augusta led the way to the book shop and they entered to a crowded, book-lined space. Hermione spotted them and hurried over, hugging Neville, Harry, and Ron. "How was your summer?" She asked them anxiously. "And did you get any of my letters?" She asked Neville.

"Sorry, long story." Neville apologized, grinning sheepishly.

"Never mind that, we can talk later." Hermione looked flustered as she glanced further into the shop. "Lockhart's over there, holding court."

Lockhart was in sky blue robes and a matching hat perched on his curly blond hair. After signing a fan's book with a flourish, he looked up and caught sight of Neville. "My word, Neville Longbottom?" He asked, eyes widening.

Mutters rumbled through the crowd as Lockhart got up from his table and pounced, pulling Neville out of the crowd. He crammed him against his side, beaming brightly as a camera flashed in a puff of smoke. "Neville, smile for the camera. We'll make headline news."

Neville could feel his face grow hot as the camera continued to flash. "Today, I have an announcement. Not only will I give Neville here a copy of all of my books for free," He flashed a cheeky smile at the crowd. "He will be getting more than my autobiography _Magical Me._ He will be getting the real me, as I have graciously accepted the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts this year." There was a smattering of enthusiastic applause.

A shop employee appeared, dumping a pile of books in Neville's arms. Neville managed to escape, hurrying toward where the others were waiting. Ginny was standing there with her battered, second-hand books Mrs. Weasley had found for her. "Here, you can have my books." Neville handed her the stack. "I'll buy my own."

"Famous Neville Longbottom." A drawling voice sneered from nearby. Neville looked in the direction of the voice and found Draco leaning against the shelves. "Can't even go to a bookstore without making the front page."

"Shove off, Malfoy." Ron snapped, stepping up beside Neville.

"Don't bother, Draco." A cool voice replied, and Mr. Malfoy appeared at Draco's shoulder. "They're not worth it."

Mr. Weasley, James and Sirius appeared at Neville and Ron's shoulder. "Malfoy." James replied, coldly, glaring at the older man. He touched Neville's shoulder warningly.

"Potter, what a pleasant surprise. And you can afford to purchase all these things for your son? I thought you didn't work." Malfoy looked surprised.

"I don't have to work if it means working with the likes of you." James answered, the grip on Neville's shoulder tightening painfully.

"Sirius, you sure are someone who is known for _dogging_ work." Malfoy sneered, looking at Sirius with loathing.

"Watch it, Malfoy." Sirius responded, coldly.

"Arthur, you are busy these days with all those raids, aren't you?" Malfoy picked up the top book off the pile Ginny was holding, clucking his tongue. "Clearly not paying you enough if the only way you can give her a new book is by the generosity of others." He slipped the book back onto the pile.

Arthur dived suddenly at Malfoy, trying to reach every part of him. James and Sirius jumped in, trying to pull Arthur away, only to be dragged in.

"My books, my precious books!" The shopkeeper cried, horrified.

"What's goin' on in here?" Hagrid demanded, appearing in the doorway of the shop. He reached out a hand and yanked James and Sirius away from the fray before reaching to pull Arthur away. "Fightin' like Muggles in a book shop? Yeh know better!"

James was sporting a bloody lip, and Sirius was sporting a bloody nose as they glared at Malfoy. "Malfoy, you won't get away with this." James snapped.

The shopkeeper hurried to check them out, glad to be rid of them. Lily and Mrs. Weasley were furious with their husbands' behavior. "Way to show a good example to your sons." Mrs. Weasley scowled at Arthur.

"Sorry, Molly. He just riles me up. Thinks he's better because he has more money." Mr. Weasley shook his head, wiping a cut on his forehead.

Neville said good-bye to the others as they disappeared into the fire in the Leaky Cauldron. Neville stepped into the fire and disappeared in a whirl of flames.


	3. Better Late Than Never

Chapter 3: Better Late than Never

There was a flurry of movement as Neville Longbottom packed his trunk for the new school year, preparing, as usual, at the last moment to depart. Augusta, Neville, and the Potters traveled by Floo Powder to the Leaky Cauldron. "We better hurry up, the train will be leaving in ten minutes." Lily reminded them, checking her watch.

Neville followed the group over to King's Cross station, James and Sirius carrying the trunks after them. The Weasley family was there already, preparing to disappear through the barrier onto the platform. "Good, you're here. I was worried you would be late. Hurry up, kids. You need to be on before eleven." Molly urged, ushering her children toward the barrier. "Percy, you first."

Percy pushed his trolley forward and disappeared. James, Lily, and Marie followed. The rest vanished through the barrier, leaving Ron, Harry, and Neville behind.

"We've got a minute left. I'll go first and you come right behind me." Neville suggested, turning his trolley toward the barrier. He began to run toward the barrier, expecting to pass through as usual.

_BANG._ The trolley collided with the barrier and toppled sideways, causing Harry and Ron to run into him. "Woah, what happened, Neville?" Harry asked, confused.

"I don't know, the barrier wouldn't let me through, somehow." Neville got to his feet and touched the barrier, which was as solid as ever.

"The train's leaving." Ron looked up at the clock high above them. "Going, going, gone…"

"How are we going to get to school now?" Harry asked, anxiously. "Our families don't know we're stuck on this side."

Ron perked up at once, eyes bright. "The car."

"The car?" Harry and Neville asked, blankly.

"My dad has a Ford Anglia that can fly. I bet I can drive it and get us there." Ron said, fervently. "C'mon."

Harry and Neville followed Ron to the parking lot where a sky blue Ford Anglia sat in a parking spot. "Okay, no Muggles are around." Ron said, anxiously, unlocking the doors with a tap of his wand. The trunk popped open and they loaded their luggage in. Hedwig was placed in the backseat where Neville sat, while Harry and Ron took the front seats. Ron tapped the steering wheel and the car's engine roared to life. With a few more adjustments, the car lifted into the air. Ron hit a button on the dashboard and the car vanished, including them. A few moments after that their surroundings flickered and they reappeared.

"Bloody hell." Ron muttered. "The Invisibility booster must be broken. We'll have to hide in the clouds and check where the train is every so often."

Ron maneuvered the car upward, disappearing into the clouds overhead.

Over the next few hours of keeping an eye on the train wending its way through the countryside like a long scarlet snake, on their latest dip, Harry shouted, "up ahead! Hogwarts!"

No sooner had the words left Harry's mouth did the car give a shudder and began to sputter. "Oh no, hang in there." Ron muttered, patting the steering wheel.

Neville felt the car dip a little, though the lit turrets and towers visible in the darkness were still distant. "Please tell me we're going to make it, I would hate to swim." He complained.

"She can make it, Neville. We just need a little more." Ron encouraged.

The car was steadily dropping as it coasted toward Hogwarts. With one last sputter, the engine died completely. "Brace for impact!" Ron cried, as a great swaying tree came into view. With a loud crash, they landed in the branches with the tree.

The three of them were jerked forward and there was a snap. "Oh no, Mum's going to kill me. My wand…" Ron moaned holding up his wand, which clearly had been snapped almost completely at the top, a bit of unicorn hair peeking out from the broken end.

"I'm sure we can find someone to fix it insi-" Before Harry could finish his sentence, there was a WHAM. Something had slammed into the side of Harry and Neville's door, knocking them both to the side.

"What the?" Ron asked, confused. Something hit the driver's side, knocking Ron aside. "We're being attacked!"

The car slid out of the tree and landed with a flump on the ground. Neville realized that the tree was beating them with its long knobby limbs, as if determined to punish them. "Drive!" He cried, forgetting that the engine had died.

But the Ford Anglia had other ideas. Shifting into reverse of its own accord, the car zoomed backward before ejecting the three boys, their luggage, and Hedwig. The car zoomed off, red lights glowing angrily as it disappeared into the forest.

"That was something." Neville panted, getting to his feet. "Might as well drag our things up to the castle. We're probably really late."

Neville and the others dragged their luggage up to the castle front door, leaving them with the rest of the school's. "I think they've started the feast." Ron panted, moving to look in a nearby window. "Hey, they're doing the Sorting!"

Neville and Ron hurried over to watch. A tiny, mousy boy was being sorted, but Neville spotted a missing professor at the staff table as his eyes scanned the Hall. "Hey, Richman's missing!" He exclaimed, pointing at the window.

"You're right, wonder why he's gone." Ron mused.

"Maybe he's sick." Harry suggested.

"Or," said a cold, quiet voice from behind them. "he's trying to find out why the three of you weren't on the train."

The three of them spun around to see who it was. Richman was standing there, arms folded, a sneer on his face. Before they could respond, he turned away. "Follow me."

They followed Richman into the hall and down to his dungeon office. "Explain yourself." He snarled, throwing down a copy of the _Evening Prophet._ "No less than seven Muggles saw your little stunt. And then, once you were here, you damaged a very valuable Whomping Willow!"

"That thing did more damage to us, look at Ron's wand!" Neville protested.

"We couldn't get through the barrier!" Harry explained, desperately. "We didn't know how to get through."

"Yeah, when Neville tried, it wouldn't let him through." Ron added.

"Well, lucky for you three, you are not in my house so I don't have the pleasure of expelling you. Therefore I will go get someone who has that power. Stay here."

The three of them exchanged looks as Richman left his office. A few minutes later, he returned with Professor McGonagall, who looked pale and furious. "Explain." She responded, curtly.

Neville launched into the story of what had happened and finished a little lamely, turning pink.

"Why didn't you send your owl to us to tell what had happened?" Professor McGonagall asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry. "You do have an owl, Potter?"

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but closed it, ashamed. "I didn't think of it." He admitted.

"You will receive detentions for this, and your families will be getting a letter. I hope you understand the gravity of what you've done." Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a plate of sandwiches appeared. "Stay here and eat. I must return to the feast."

"Professor McGonagall?" Ron asked, as she reached the door. "My sister. What House did she get Sorted into?"

Professor McGonagall looked back at him and almost smiled. "Gryffindor. Now good night."

"I can't believe all we're getting is detention." Ron muttered, after McGonagall left.

"I know, when Richman turned up, I was sure we'd be expelled for sure." Harry nodded, biting one of the sandwiches.

"It definitely could have been worse. I wonder why we can't join the feast." Neville frowned at the other two.

"Probably she didn't want us bragging about it." Harry explained.

"Us? Bragging?" Ron snorted in amusement.

After they had as many sandwiches as they wanted, the plate refilling itself each time they emptied it, Neville led them upstairs to Gryffindor tower. "Password?" The Fat Lady asked, leveling them a look.

"Er-" Neville looked at the other two.

"Where have you three been?" A bossy voice demanded, making them spin around in surprise. Hermione looked annoyed as she glared at them. "Rumors are going over the school that you flew a car into the Whomping Willow."

"Well, it is true." Harry replied, sheepishly. "But the barrier wouldn't let Neville through!"

"What's done is done. The password is Wattlebird." Hermione shook her head in disappointment as the Fat Lady swung forward to admit them. "Why are all the craziest rumors about you three the truest?"

"That's because the craziest things happen to us, Hermione. Now lay off us, we've already gotten it from McGonagall and Richman. We don't need it from you, too." Ron snapped.

"Fine, good night." Hermione stalked off to bed.

"We better go to bed, too. We don't want to be late for lessons too." Harry sighed as they took the stairs to their own dormitory, which had a placard that said "2nd year". "Night."

"Night." Neville and Ron echoed. They were soon asleep.


	4. Scarlet Surprise

Chapter 4: Scarlet Surprise

Harry, Neville, and Ron arrived at breakfast to a lot of chatter and staring. "Clearly the whole school knows." Ron grinned at Harry and Neville as they sat at the Gryffindor table.

They looked up as a rustle of wings sounded from overhead. Neville spotted five barn owls, three of them carrying a scarlet envelope. "Is that a Howler?"

"Please don't be for me." Ron muttered, watching the five owls flutter toward them. One landed in front of Ron. One holding a scarlet envelope, the other two with scrolls landed on the table in front of Harry. One of the owls with a scarlet letter landed in front of Neville.

Ron took the envelope from the owl, as though it was about to explode. "I can't believe my Mum sent me a Howler." He moaned.

"We better open them before they burst into flames." Harry sighed, as his own letter began to smoke.

The envelopes burst into flames, and a sudden explosion burst from the burning paper. Voices shouted from the three envelopes, mixing together so it was possible to only catch a few words at a time from each.

"HOW DARE YOU, RONALD WEASLEY...!"

"YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED...!"

"YOUR PARENTS WOULD BE ASHAMED IF THEY…!"

"PUT ONE TOE…!"

"WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER HEARS…!"

"DON'T YOU DARE GET IN TR…!"

The three letters shouted incomprehensively until the paper had crumbled to ash. Ron had slumped in his seat, his face as scarlet as the Howler envelope.

Harry finally spoke, "That. Was. Horrible. I didn't know my mum could shout like that."

"What do those letters say?" Neville asked, his own face pink.

Harry unrolled the first scroll, seeing that the outside said it was from his dad. "He says he agrees with Mum, but he thought it was awesome and wish he thought of that when he was in school…What is this at the bottom? 'You're clearly marauders in training'?" Harry frowned as he looked up at the other two. "What do you think that means?"

Neville shrugged. "Dunno, maybe you can ask him at Christmas."

Harry unrolled the second scroll, this one from his godfather. "Again, Sirius is praising me for the trip and wishes that he knew where the map was to give as a present. What map?" He asked, looking over at Ron and Neville.

Neville shrugged again as Professor McGonagall descended from the staff table to hand out schedules. "We'll have to leave it, McGonagall's on her way."

They went silent at once as Professor McGonagall approached, handing them their schedules. Neville scanned the schedule, eyes lighting up. "We have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs first thing." He said, excitedly.

"We better go, we don't want to be late for class." Harry got up from the table, swinging his bag over his shoulder. Neville and Ron followed him out of the Great Hall.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Hermione panted, hurrying to catch up.

"What, do you want to continue what my mum started?" Ron grumbled, turning away from her.

"No, I don't. I'm just trying to be friendly." Hermione followed them onto the grounds. "I think those Howlers were punishment enough, you know. You can be nice."

"I could." Ron continued toward the greenhouses.

"Oh no…" Neville moaned as two figures approached the greenhouses in front of them. One was Professor Sprout, her flyaway hair sprinkled with dirt under her usual frayed hat. The other was Professor Lockhart in robes of baby blue. Lockhart caught sight of Neville as they approached. "Ah, Neville! May I have a word with you? You don't mind, Professor Sprout?" By the expression on Professor Sprout's face, she wanted to object. However, Professor Lockhart merely said, "Excellent." Before he ushered her through the doorway into the greenhouse, shutting it beside him.

Lockhart steered Neville away from the greenhouses, stopping a few yards from the greenhouse. He shook his blond head. "I should have known."

"Should have known what?" Neville asked, wary.

"I should have known when we had that fateful meeting in Flourish and Blotts, you would get the fame bug. But Neville, I did not get to be a famous author and adventurer by starting out with flying cars. No, I was just like you. Young boy with talent that was on these very grounds. You have to work up to the kind of notoriety you received last night. If you have any questions, please, please, feel free to come see me. I'll be happy to guide you." Neville noticed as Lockhart placed a firm hand on his shoulder, that even when the man was speaking, he showed every pearly white tooth he possessed.

"I better go back to class. I'm late enough." Neville shrugged out of Lockhart's grip and hurried into the greenhouse.

Neville slipped in between Ron, Harry, and Hermione at a pot as Sprout continued about Mandrakes. "Now, we will be working on Mandrake seedlings, so its cry won't be fatal yet. But it will knock you out, so please make sure you have your earmuffs secure. Don't want to miss your first day back, you know. I will signal when to take your earmuffs off."

Neville grabbed a pair of earmuffs as the rest of the class did the same. Silence fell over Neville as he placed the earmuffs over his ears. Over the course of the rest of the lesson, they repotted Mandrakes, who were unwilling to leave their pots.

Finally, Professor Sprout signaled the end of class and they removed their earmuffs. "Good work today, class. You're dismissed."

As they left the lesson, a curly haired Hufflepuff approached them. "Neville, it's good to meet you. I'm Justin. Justin Finch-Fletchley. And I know who you are, you're Neville Longbottom."

"Yes, I am." Neville nodded, a little wary, as Justin's gaze flicked up to his scar.

"Nice to meet you. I better get to my next class. See you later." Justin hurried off toward the castle.

Neville led them to the Transfiguration classroom, their next lesson. Professor McGonagall had Seamus pass out beetles, which they were to turn into buttons. Neville glanced over at Ron as they worked and noticed that he was having a lot of issues with his Spello-Taped wand. It was sparking and misfiring. "Stupid wand." He muttered, shaking it.

Neville turned back to his own beetle just as Ron's elbow landed on the table, squashing his beetle. "Um, Professor McGonagall? I squished my beetle." Ron's ears turned pink.

Professor McGonagall leveled him a look. "Mr. Weasley, you will need to replace that wand immediately. It is a hazard."

"My mum will kill me if I ask for it after I've already made her mad." Ron protested.

"It still stands, Mr. Weasley. You will be unable to do well in any of your lessons if you do not replace it."

As they headed out into the courtyard for morning break, Ron was muttering under his breath. "I can only imagine all too clearly the Howler I would get if I asked for a new wand. She'd say 'You broke it, so I'm not going to reward you for doing wrong'." He mimicked Mrs. Weasley.

Neville laughed. "Well, you did break it trying to get here. She has a point."

Ron scowled at him. "You're not helping."

Harry and Hermione laughed.


	5. Pesky Pixies

Chapter 5: Pesky Pixies

Neville was starving by the time they arrived in the Great Hall for lunch. Hermione sat with them at the Gryffindor table, displaying a handful of perfect buttons she had Transfigured in class. "Leave it alone, Hermione. You don't need to show off." Ron grumbled sourly.

Hermione's expression turned frosty. "If you hadn't broken your wand getting here, you wouldn't be having trouble."

"What class do we have next?" Neville asked, to change the topic of conversation.

"Lockhart." Hermione at once.

"Oh? You have the schedule memorized so you know when we have Lockhart and little hearts surrounding his name? Perhaps writing Hermione Lockhart beside it?" Ron asked, callously, raising an eyebrow.

"Never you mind, Ron." Hermione said, getting up from her seat. Her face was slightly pink as she moved down the table to sit with Lavender and Parvati.

"She's mental if she likes that overinflated egomaniac." Ron grumbled, loading his plate.

After lunch, the four of them headed out to the courtyard for break.

"Are you really Neville Longbottom?" An excited voice asked from behind them. They turned and saw a blond first-year, a camera around his neck on a strap. "I'm Colin Creevey. It's so nice to meet you. I've heard all about you, of course, but as I'm Muggle-born, I didn't expect to actually meet you! My brother didn't think I would ever do so, do you mind if I take a picture to prove it to him?"

"Um, I guess." Neville blinked as a flash blinded him. Colin had taken a picture as soon as he had agreed.

"I heard about this potion that you can develop Muggle pictures in that lets them move. When I develop it, would you sign it, Neville?" Colin asked, positively quivering with excitement.

"I guess." Neville nodded, and Colin hurried away.

"Everyone get your parchment out, Longbottom's giving out autographs!" Malfoy jeered, as the Slytherins passed them. The other Slytherins laughed, mockingly.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy!" Ron snapped, glaring at Draco.

"Ooh, such a big talk from a little blood traitor. Protecting your girlfriend?" Malfoy shot a disgusted look at Hermione.

Ron pulled out his Spellotaped wand, but before he could curse Malfoy, Lockhart turned up. "What is going on with you gentlemen?" He asked, astonished at the sight.

"Longbottom is giving out autographed photos and Weasley pulled his wand on me, Professor." Malfoy stepped back, smirking at the four of them.

"Signed autographed photos?" Lockhart pounced on it at once, grabbing Neville. "Well, come on, Mr. Creevey, take our picture and we'll _both _sign it!"

Neville turned beet red as Colin snapped the photo and tried wriggling out of Lockhart's grip. "Thanks, but I have to head to-"

"Word to the wise, Mr. Longbottom," Lockhart interrupted, ignoring his protests. "I saved you back there but signing autographs like that makes you look like you have a big ego, see? It's all about image, remember that."

Neville grumbled as Lockhart let go of him and strode off back to the front door. "Between Colin and Lockhart, I'll give Malfoy a lot more to jeer about this year." He muttered to Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"We better get to class, it's almost time." Hermione checked her watch. She led them back into the castle.

Lockhart swept into the room as the class seated themselves at their desks. "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts, second years! If you do not know who I am, you've been living in the Muggle world for the last…well, I'm not going to say how long, that would reveal my age!" Lockhart beamed at them, making the girls in the room giggle. "Has everyone bought my entire collection of books?" He asked, looking around. The class nodded and murmured in answer. "We're going to start class today with a little quiz, just to see how well you read my books."

"A quiz, already?" Ron muttered to Harry and Neville, as Lockhart passed out pieces of parchment to each student. "Three guesses as to the topic."

Harry and Neville grinned as they started the quiz. It was indeed about Lockhart, from questions on his favorite color to his greatest ambition.

Lockhart collected the parchment after a half hour. He clucked his tongue in disapproval as he read their answers. "Only Miss Granger knew my favorite color was lilac. Upon further inspection of your paper, you receive full marks. Who is Miss Granger?"

Hermione eagerly raised her hand, turning pink.

"Good for you, take ten points for Gryffindor." Lockhart gave her a cheeky wink before setting the parchment beside a covered object in the shape of a birdcage. "I am about to show you the most dangerous creature known to wizards. Do not scream when you see them, I am here to ensure that no harm comes to you while in my class. I give you Cornish Pixies!" He whipped off the cover.

Harry and Neville snorted derisively as they spotted the blue-bodied creatures. Lockhart turned to them. "Don't mistake their size, boys. They are tricky little blighters. Now let's see what you make of them!" With a tap of his wand, the door of the cage opened. The pixies shot out of the cage, wreaking havoc.

The whole class ducked, trying to keep out of the way of the pixies as they ran for the door. Ron, Harry, and Neville stayed behind. Hermione froze several of them, causing them to fall to the floor with a thud. Finally the room was quiet as paper floated through the air, the classroom a mess.

"I see you have this all under control, I'll let you four just round them up!" Lockhart said at once, before hurrying from the classroom.

"Mental, he had no control over that class, did he?" Ron panted, packing his bag again.

"Ridiculous, Ron. He wrote so many books about the things he's done." Hermione protested.

"Where's the proof he actually did those things?" Harry asked, angrily. "He looked like he didn't have a clue what he was doing! He didn't even tell us how to get rid of them! Only you and that freeze charm worked."

"I am sure he was giving us-er-real world experience." Hermione insisted, though she looked doubtful.

"Keep telling yourself that." Neville muttered, as they left the classroom.


	6. Curse of the Slugs

Chapter 6: Curse of the Slugs

Several weeks passed, in which Neville tried to avoid Lockhart as much as possible. As the Quidditch season was just a matter of weeks away, Oliver Wood scheduled their first practice of the season and Ron, Hermione, and Neville hurried down toward the Quidditch pitch.

"Wait up, guys!" An excited voice cried, behind them. Neville sighed and turned to greet Colin. "Can I talk to you, Harry?"

"Me?" Harry gave the other three a confused look. "Okay, I guess…"

"We'll be sitting in the stands, Harry." Hermione waved, leading Neville and Ron to the pitch. Neville looked back at Harry and Colin, the latter jabbering away as they headed to the changing rooms.

They took their seats, anxiously waiting for the Gryffindor team to take to the field. Finally, the seven scarlet-robed, broom-laden figures appeared on the field, heading toward the center of the field. Hermione tugged on Neville's sleeve. "Uh-oh, here comes trouble."

Neville and Ron looked, spotting seven emerald-clad figures marching onto the pitch, dark, shiny brooms on their shoulders. "What's the Slytherin team doing here?" Neville wondered aloud.

"Dunno, but it can't mean anything good." Ron got to his feet. "We better go find out what's going on."

Hermione, Ron, and Neville arrived as the Slytherin team reached the Gryffindors and stopped a few feet away. Oliver was beside himself with fury. "I specifically booked the pitch tonight, what are you doing here?" He demanded.

"We got special permission from Professor Snape. To train our new Seeker." Marcus Flint sneered, glaring down at Oliver.

"You've got a new Seeker?" Oliver asked, taken aback. "Who?"

The Slytherin team parted, revealing the blond, pale face of Draco Malfoy. "Hello, gentleman. Granger." He said, glancing coldly in Hermione's direction. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Draco's father was _very _generous to us. He kindly provided new brooms for the entire Slytherin team. The latest broom, just out last month. The Nimbus 2001." Flint continued, rubbing his cuff over the shiny handle of his broom.

"Of course, Malfoy had to buy his way onto the team. Gryffindors get on the team through sheer talent." Hermione said, loftily.

"I don't need any input from a little Mudblood like you." Malfoy sneered, wrinkling his own nose in her direction.

Hermione shrieked in surprise as Neville and Harry gave an angry shout, whipping out their wands. But before they could so much as utter a syllable, Ron cried, pointing his Spellotaped wand at Malfoy, "Eat slugs, Malfoy!"

A bright flash of green light blasted from his wand and threw him backward a few feet to the ground. "Ron!" Harry, Hermione, and Neville cried hurrying over to him.

Ron turned a nasty shade of green and belched out a slug onto the ground. Hermione grimaced, and Neville looked away. He spotted Colin hurrying toward them as the Slytherin laughed riotously.

"Can you hold him still, Harry? I want to get a good photo." Colin said, eagerly, raising his camera to eye level.

"Not the time, Colin." Harry grunted. With Neville's help, they hoisted Ron to his feet and struggled to help him off the pitch.

"Where are we going to take him?" Neville asked, anxiously, looking across Ron to Harry as Hermione hurried along behind them.

"Hagrid's, he'll know what to do." Harry nodded toward the hut on the edge of the forest.

Harry and Neville finally managed to get Ron to Hagrid's, leaving a trail of slugs he was belching behind them. Hagrid hastily let them in, stepping out of the way to let them in and avoid the next round of slugs.

"Wha' happened?" Hagrid asked, as they settled at the table. He hurriedly handed a bucket to Ron, who disappeared behind it.

"Ron tried to curse Malfoy." Harry answered at once. "Is there anything you can do to fix it?"

"Best to let it run its course. That kinda curse is hard to fix even without a broken wand." Hagrid gave Ron a concerned look as he spoke, bringing over a kettle of tea for the other two. "What did he say to make yeh snap like tha'?"

"He called me a name I didn't recognize." Hermione said, miserably, giving Ron a concerned look. "He called me a M-Mudblood."

"No, he didn't!" Hagrid cried, in shock. "That Malfoy kid don' know nothin'. There's so few purebloods these days that a lot o' us are half-blood or less. It's all about this pureblood is better than the res' nonsense. There hasn't been a spell you haven't mastered yet." Hagrid's beard twitched as he gazed fondly at Hermione.

Hermione turned pink, and hastily took a sip of the tea he'd poured for her.

"We'll just have to let the curse run its course, I'm afraid. C'mon out to the gardens, you three. I want ter show yeh something."

Harry, Hermione, and Neville followed Hagrid out of the house to his garden. A dozen pumpkins big enough for a small child to crouch in were growing there. "Wow, what are these for?" Harry asked, looking up at Hagrid.

"Fer the Halloween feast. I'm giving them a little help, with my umbrella, see?" Hagrid patted the pink umbrella hanging on his belt. "I reckon they'll be enormous by Halloween night."

"I can imagine so." Neville nodded.

Hagrid led them into his house where Ron still looked green, face hovering over the bucket. "Ron, just wanted ter say, I met yer sister yesterday and she seems to think Harry's as worthy of getting a signed photo from him as people are for Neville's. Speaking of which, Neville, where's mine?"

"Don't say that, I don't need any more talk of autographs." Neville groaned. Hagrid chuckled and Harry turned pink.

"I'm just messin' with yeh, Neville. You know I'm not gonna make yeh do anythin' yeh don' wanna."

"Thanks, Hagrid." Neville smiled at him.

Neville, Harry, Hermione, and Ron declined to stay for dinner at Hagrid's hut, and headed up to the castle to drop their bags off before dinner, Ron still burping up slugs. McGonagall met them at the Hall. "A word with you three?" she asked, looking between Ron, Harry, and Neville. Hermione gave a I-told-you-so look and headed for the stairs.

"What is it, Professor?" Harry asked, anxiously.

"You three will serve your detention tonight at 8." Professor McGonagall informed them, giving them a stern look.

"What are we going to do?" Neville asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Longbottom, Lockhart requested you, personally. You will be doing detention with him. Weasley, you will do detention with Filch in the trophy room to clean the trophies without magic. And Potter, you will be in the dungeons with Richman. He said bring your protective gloves."

They nodded and headed up to the common room before giving a groan. "Lockhart is going to be a nightmare." Neville groaned.

"I'd take yours over mine." Ron muttered. "I'm still burping up slugs, it's going to take forever to clean them."

"Good luck, you two." Harry gave them a weak smile. "Richman is going to be my own personal nightmare."

The three nodded in agreement, not looking forward to detention.


	7. Voices in the Walls

Chapter 7: Voices in the Walls

That night, Harry, Ron, and Neville left the common room for their separate detentions. Ron was still belching slugs, so he was looking forward to it less than he normally would. "This is going to be miserable." He moaned, before heading toward the trophy room.

Neville said good-bye to Harry and headed to Lockhart's office. He knocked on the door and a voice within answered, "Come in."

Neville entered the office, and was at once bombarded by Lockharts from every direction. It took a moment to realize he was staring at dozens of Wizarding photographs of Lockhart that papered the walls of the office. The man himself was seated behind an ornate mahogany desk, beaming at him. "Neville, come in, come in! I have a little treat for you. I know this is supposed to be a detention, but I couldn't resist giving you something special."

"What exactly are we going to be doing?" Neville asked, unnerved by the idea of anything Lockhart would consider "a treat".

"Answering my fan mail, of course. I have so many fans that love sending me letters and gifts that I hardly have time to answer all of them. I prefer to handwrite each of them, you know, to give them a personal touch. You will just be addressing envelopes, of course."

Neville gave a sigh and settled himself at the desk. He pulled a large stack of envelopes toward him, as well as the list of addresses, and got to work.

Lockhart and Neville worked hard into the night, Lockhart muttering words like, "Fame is a fickle mistress, Neville. Remember that," and "Give back to those who made you."

Nevile's hand began to cramp as he continued to write out addresses. Suddenly, a voice hissed, _"Kill…rip…come…victim…!"_

"What?" Neville said loudly, startled into dropping his quill.

"Pardon?" Lockhart asked, looking up from a letter. "Did you say something?"

"I must have fallen asleep." Neville apologized.

"Great Scott, is that the time?" Lockhart yelped in surprise, spotting the time. "No wonder you're falling asleep, it's after midnight! Go off to bed then, Neville. And don't expect this every time you get in trouble!"

Neville walked shakily back to the common room and found Ron and Harry had returned. Ron was massaging his hand. "How did it go?" Ron asked him.

"Not as bad as you did, it seems. Listen," Neville quickly recounted the events in Lockhart's office.

"And he said he didn't hear anything?" Harry asked, surprised.

"So he claims." Neville nodded.

"Why would he lie about it?" Harry asked, confused.

"Dunno, but keep it quiet, Neville. Even in the Wizarding world, hearing voices no one else can makes you sound mental. No offense." Ron pointed out.

"Thanks." Neville muttered, and Harry laughed.

October arrived with mud and rain as the Gryffindor practices ratcheted up in frequency in preparation for the upcoming match against Slytherin. As Harry, Neville, Ron, and Hermione headed back to the common room after a particularly muddy practice, they spotted Nearly Headless Nick drifting across the door. The ghost spotted them, straightening the ruff holding his partially-severed neck in place. "Neville, Ron, Hermione, Harry. It's been a while. You well?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Except we're going to be flattened by Slytherin in the match against them." Harry replied gloomily. "Fred spied on their practice and their brooms make mine look like a joke."

"I am sorry for your trouble, Harry, but I have other things on my mind." Nearly Headless Nick said delicately, straightening his ruffled collar.

"What's on your mind?" Harry inquired, concerned.

"The ghosts of the Headless Hunt have denied my request to join them. It took forty-five whacks with a blunt axe for me to die but _no!_ Just because a _little_ bit of neck is still hanging on, I'm not beheaded nice and proper! It is impossible to wish more than I do that they had done it right."

"I'm sorry, is there anything we can do to help?" Hermione asked, looking anxious.

Nick turned to look at Hermione, his head wobbling a little on his neck. "There is something you four can do! The 500th anniversary of my deathday is coming up on Halloween and-"

"Your death day?" Ron asked, startled.

"Yes, my death day." Nick responded coolly, looking at Ron. "I was beheaded on Halloween 500 years ago. Because of this, I am having a little party in one of the nicer dungeons. As I have been talking about being friends with the great Neville Longbottom and his friends, I have a certain reputation to uphold. If you four were to come to my party, well…"

"Of course we'll come, right guys?" Neville asked, giving them an anxious look.

"Of course." Hermione nodded, as did the other two.

"Is there anything I can do with your trouble, Harry?" Nick asked, gazing down at Harry.

"Yeah, if you can find where we can get seven free Nimbus 2001s before our match." Harry replied gloomily.

Before Nick could answer, a mewling noise came from Harry's ankles, startling him. "You better get out of here. Filch is in a bad mood already after Fred and George were caught with a Fanged Frisbee. He's got the flu and he is out for blood."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville ran for it, hurrying down the corridor. They skidded to a halt as Filch ran toward them, wheezing. "Caught red-handed! Filth that I have to clean up!"

"It's not our fault!" Neville protested. "We were out on the Quid-"

"I don't want to hear it. Come with me." Filch turned away, walking down the corridor.

Neville, Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed Filch to his office. Filch plopped down in his desk chair, pulling out our disciplinary forms. "I am tired of all this trouble from students. I have to make an example of you four." He began working on the parchment forms.

Harry looked at the other three, trying to figure out how to get out of their predicament. Suddenly, a horrific crash sounded from several floors above the office. "What was that?" Filch asked, jumping to his feet. "You four stay here, I have to see what happened. I bet Peeves was behind this."

Filch hurried out of the office, a manic gleam in his eye.

"We better get out of here before he comes back." Ron said anxiously, casting a glance at the ceiling. "Whoever did this saved our backsides, he did."

Neville nodded, looking around the room. His eyes landed on the desk where a parchment envelope sat, addressed in glittering red letters. "What is that?" He asked, moving around to the other side of the desk.

"What is it?" Harry asked, as Neville picked up the envelope.

"Kwikspell?" Neville asked, reading the envelope. He opened it and read the parchment inside. "It's a spell lesson for idiots!" he told them. "Why would he need that? Unless…"

"Unless what?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Unless Filch is a Squib." Harry answered, for Neville. In response to Hermione's confused look, he continued, "A Squib is the opposite of a Muggle-born. Someone of magical parentage that has no powers."

Ron chortled. "That would explain why he hates students."

"Put it back, put it back!" Hermione whispered, as footsteps sounded outside the door.

Neville stuffed the parchment back into the envelope and tossed it back on the desk. He returned to his seat as Filch entered, looking bad tempered.

"Peeves at it again. I'm going to have him removed-" Filch's eyes landed on the Kwikspell envelope and his eyes narrowed at them. "Did you see? It's not mine, I got it for a friend." He said quickly, his face turning a blotchy red.

"We didn't see it!" Hermione protested, turning pink.

"Just get out of here and tell no one about this." Filch snarled, turning back to his desk.

The four of them made a run for it, not slowing down before they had put several floors away. "That was close. Thankfully whoever made that noise is a genius." Ron panted, leaning against the wall.

"Thanks, little bro." A voice replied, and they spotted Fred and George approached, grinning. "We convinced Peeves to drop a vanishing cabinet over Filch's office." Fred continued.

"You're welcome, by the way. And by the way, it was so easy to get him to do it. Mayhem is his middle name." George reminded him.

"True, a poltergeist after my own heart." Fred sighed. "You better go get cleaned up before Filch goes after you four again."

"Good idea." Harry nodded and they headed back to Gryfindor Tower to change.


	8. Death Day Attack

Chapter 8: Death Day Attack

Halloween arrived with the whole school anticipating the Halloween Feast. With reluctance, the four of them passed the entrance to the Great Hall, heading for the dungeons. "Which one do you think it is?" Ron asked, anxiously, as the temperature of the corridor they were walking down steadily grew frostier.

"I'm guessing the one decorated like that." Hermione said, pointing toward a dungeon that had a ghostly blue light emanating from it.

"Likely it is." Neville nodded, leading the way to the dungeon.

The room was decorated with candles that cast an eerie blue glow that washed out their faces. From the looks of the guests, they were the only living beings in the dungeon. A terrible, warbling noise that sounded like a someone playing the saws. "Is that supposed to be music?" Harry whispered, horrified.

"Shh!" Neville hissed, as Nearly Headless Nick drifted over to them. "Hello, Nick." He said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Glad you could come to my party." Nearly Headless Nick said, in a solemn voice. "I need to move on, though. I must make a speech."

As Nick made his speech, Neville spotted food, but was repulsed because of the disgusting smell emanating from the table. Hooves thundered into the dungeon and they turned as ghostly horsemen rode into the chilly room, tossing a pearly head between them.

"This was a mistake, we better get out of here and see if we can catch the end of the feast." Hermione whispered, shivering.

The four of them hurried out of the dungeon and back to the warm entrance hall. "I don't think the feast has ended, let's see if we can join them-Neville?" Ron asked, seeing the look on Neville's face.

"I hear something." Neville listened closely, straining to hear better.

_Kill…must kill…!_

"It's going to kill!" Neville exclaimed, hurrying for the marble staircase.

"Neville? What do you mean?" Hermione asked, anxiously, as the other three followed him.

"That voice I heard in Lockhart's detention. I can hear it again!" Neville answered without slowing down. He listened for the voice, following it farther up through the castle.

They skidded to a halt in a corridor when they spotted shining foot-tall red letters on the wall that read: _The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir Beware_. "Enemies of the heir beware?" Ron asked, confused. "What does that mean?"

Hermione let out a gasp, pointing to something they hadn't spotted at first look. "Is that Mrs. Norris?" She asked, as if fearing the answer.

"I think it is." Neville moved closer. Mrs. Norris was stiff as a board, dangling by her tail from a torch bracket.

"Neville, we shouldn't be here." Harry said, anxiously, as a thundering of footsteps sounded, growing louder as the crowd approached.

Before they could move, the first of the crowd approaching them arrived, stopping suddenly as they spotted the sight of the cat and the message. "Enemies of the Heir beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Draco sneered in his drawling voice.

Filch arrived, jowls a quivering. He stumbled to halt, mouth gaping at his frozen cat. "Mrs. Norris! What happened to her?" His pale eyes landed on Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. "_You!_ _You killed my cat!"_

"No, I swear we didn't!" Neville protested, horrified.

"Argus!" a sharp voice rang out in the corridor. Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Snape had arrived, looking grave. It had been McGonagall who had spoken. Dumbledore strode over and took Mrs. Norris down from the bracket.

"Everyone, return to your dormitories. Except you four." Dumbledore's blue eyes gazed sternly at them for a moment.

"My office is nearby, Professor Dumbledore. It's closest." Professor Lockhart offered, at once.

Professor Lockhart led Dumbledore, McGonagall, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville to his office, waving his wand at the candles as he entered. Dumbledore set the stiff cat on the desk, and began examining her, closely.

"I know exactly what this is, I've seen it before in my travels. Someone clearly used the Transmogrifian curse on her. If only I had gotten there sooner-" Lockhart blathered on, pacing as Dumbledore worked.

"They killed my cat…" Filch moaned. "Because they found out I was a Squib."

"Enough, Professor Lockhart." Dumbledore said sharply, pulling back finally. "Argus, Mrs. Norris is not dead."

"Not-?" Flich looked confused.

"No, she's been Petrified. But how it happened, I am not sure." Dumbledore said, thoughtfully.

"They know what happened!" Filch pointed a shaking finger at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

"No second year could have done this, Argus. They are innocent." Dumbledore stepped back, looking grave. "Professor Sprout has an excellent number of Mandrake seedlings that when matured, will be able to be used to create a Mandrake draught to revive Mrs. Norris."

"My question is why these four were wandering the castle instead of at the Halloween feast." Richman said, from the corner. He stepped into the light, looking between them. "Where were you?"

"I wasn't hungry, so we were heading to our common room." Harry explained.

Richman raised an eyebrow as Ron's stomach grumbled. "Clearly."

"We should send them off to bed, Professors. It's been a long day." McGonagall said, briskly. "Off to bed, you four."

Neville didn't hesitate. Wheeling around, he hurried out of the office and up to the common room with the other three following. When they finally reached the safety of the common room, they stopped, sinking into chairs by the fire.

"Any of you hear of the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione asked, anxiously.

"No. If you haven't heard of it, why would we?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sure someone might know about it. I'll look into it. But I better go to bed. Good night." Hermione got to her feet and headed up to bed.

The three boys followed not long after, falling asleep quickly.

"Professor Binns?" Hermione asked in their next History of Magic lesson. The rest of the class stared as Professor Binns looked up from his notes.

"Miss Grant?" Professor Binns asked, looking down at her as he floated a few inches off the ground.

"I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione asked, now having the attention of everyone in the room.

"Miss Grant, we deal in facts in this class. The Chamber of Secrets is a legend passed down through the centuries and has never been confirmed."

"Please, we would like to hear the story." Hermione said, politely.

Professor Binns gazed around at the faces looking back at him and sighed. "Very well. The Chamber of Secrets. As you should know by now, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four greatest minds of the time, one thousand years ago. Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. They ran the school for many peaceful decades. Until one day there came about a rift between two of the founders."

"Three guesses who the problem was." Ron whispered to Harry and Neville, who grinned.

"This rift led to Slytherin leaving the school, never to return to the school. This is all history confirms, however. Legend states that Slytherin had a secret chamber that he sealed before he left, locking a monster that only his one true heir could release and purge the school of those who he deemed unworthy to teach magic. But this is only legend, so please, let us get back to fact."

Professor Binns went back to his notes and droned on, ending the interest the class had during the story.

As they left Binns' classroom, Ron gave them a look. "Remember what Malfoy said? 'Enemies of the Heir beware. You're next, Mudbloods.' I'm guessing he knows more than he lets on."

"And I bet the enemies would be anyone that isn't purebloods, based on how Slytherins act." Harry said, darkly.

"We have no proof Malfoy did anything wrong, we'll just have to keep an eye on him." Hermione reminded them. "We have more important things to worry about than what Malfoy says."

"You're right." Ron nodded. "But Malfoy is up to something."

Hermione shook her head.


	9. Investigation

Chapter 9: Investigation

The next morning arrived with the whole school talking of nothing else. On the way to their first lesson of the day, Potions, Ron was carrying a running bash session on all things Slytherin.

"I know one thing," Ron said, biting a piece of bacon as they walk. Still chewing, he continued, "If the Sorting Hat tried to put me in Slytherin, I would be on the first train out of here." Neville didn't answer, which didn't stop Ron from ranting. "You couldn't pay me enough to be a Slytherin, they're all a bunch of-"

"Bunch of what, Weasley?" a drawling voice asked behind him. "Do finish that sentence, I'd love to see what your brilliant mind comes up with."

Ron spun on his heel to face Draco Malfoy. "Shut up, Malfoy. Or I'll-"

"Jinx yourself again?" Draco asked, arching a pale eyebrow. He snorted. "I'll enjoy watching you fail in Potions." He gave them a scathing look as he pushed past them to the dungeon.

Richman opened the dungeon door at that moment, saving Ron from more trouble, and swept them into the dungeon.

As they headed to the Great Hall for lunch, Colin Creevey could be seen in the crowd as it made its way toward the Hall. "Neville, guess what I heard? A boy in my class said you're the-" The rest of his words were lost as Colin was lost in the crowd.

"He heard what?" Hermione asked, looking at the other three.

"Probably that I'm the Heir of Slytherin." Neville replied with a sigh. "But let's ignore it, it's just the usual rumor."

Hermione nodded and led the three of them into the Great Hall.

After lunch, they headed off to their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and passed the corridor where Mrs. Norris was attacked. "Filch has been standing guard since the attack, snapping at everyone for the thickest things." Ron muttered, as they paused by the spot.

"We might as well look around since we're early for class. And anyway, Neville can do no wrong in Lockhart's eyes." Harry grinned at Neville, who rolled his eyes.

After a minute of searching, Harry spotted dark scorch marks on the walls near the spot where Mrs. Norris had hung from the bracket. "Hey, guys. Look at these scorch marks. Here and here. What do you think did that?"

"Dunno." Neville shook his head.

"Hey, look at what these spiders are doing." Hermione pointed at the opposite window. Harry and Neville joined her at the window. "They're acting strange, as if they're trying rush to get out through this window. What do you think, Ron? Ron?"

They looked around and saw that Ron was standing back, looking a mixture of terrified and disgusted. "Let's get to class."

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I. Hate. Spiders." Ron said firmly, backing away further. "All those long legs and…" He shuddered.

"Wasn't there water on the floor last night?" Neville asked, looking around. "There was a large puddle that led all the way to there." He pointed a door.

"There was." Hermione led them to the door and pushed it open, but the other three stopped. "What's wrong?"

"It's a girl's bathroom, we can't go in." Harry pointed out.

"Stop being a baby." Hermione rolled her eyes and went inside.

The bathroom was light, and bright. "I wonder why no one uses this bathroom much." Ron asked, looking at Hermione.

"It's because Moaning Myrtle's resides in here. And she's a little sensitive." Hermione whispered.

Before the other three could say anything, the ghost of a teenage girl came zooming out of the nearest toilet to hover before them. "Why are you guys whispering? Everyone whispers around me."

"We weren't whispering about you, Myrtle. We were wanting to ask you something." Hermione insisted, giving her a tentative smile.

Myrtle scratched her chin with a transparent finger. "What do you want to ask?" She asked, finally.

"Did you see or hear anything outside your bathroom last night?" Hermione asked, anxiously.

Myrte paused in mid-scratch, looking down at them behind her thick glasses. "I don't know, I wasn't paying attention to what was going on. That wretched poltergeist came in here and started throwing ink wells at me and I just wanted to kill myself. Until I realized I was already dead." Myrtle sighed.

"You just figured that out?" Ron snorted in amusement. "I would think-" He was cut off short when Hermione dug her elbow into his ribs, making him groan.

With a shriek of misery, Myrtle rose into the air and plunged, disappearing into the nearest toilet.

"Great job, Ron. She was the best clue we had." Hermione muttered, turning to leave the bathroom.

Harry and Neville sighed, giving each other looks. As they exited the bathroom, a loud voice said, "What on earth are you doing in a girl's bathroom, Ron?"

Ron turned and saw Percy standing a few feet away, looking pompous, embarrassed, and furious all at the same time. "I-I-"

"What would people think if they saw you walking out of a _girl's_ bathroom! Get out of here before someone sees. Good thing I saw you and not someone-well…"

Hermione led the other three away, but before they rounded the corner, Ron yelled out, "Yeah, if someone saw me coming out of a girl's bathroom it would _soooo _hurt your chances of being Head Boy next year!"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, looking furious with him.

Percy turned pink, but stood his ground. "Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek. And you better watch your step, little brother, or I'll go to McGonagall."

"Stupid git." Ron muttered as they headed away from Percy. "Taking five points from Gryffindor like that."

"You started it, calling him out like that." Hermione pointed out.

Ron and Hermione bickered all the way to Defense Against the Arts. Lockhart didn't seem to mind them being late, greeting them warmly and instructing them to sit down before he resumed class.


	10. Problem Potion

Chapter 10: Problem Potion

A few days later, Harry, Ron, and Neville were working on their homework while Hermione read a book, as she had completed her homework already. Ron knocked over an ink bottle and hastily tried to clear it off with his wand, setting it on fire.

Hermione sighed, setting her book down before extinguishing the flames with her wand. "I was just thinking. Who would want to scare all the Muggle-borns in school?" She asked, looking around at the three of them.

"Who do we know that has such a low opinion of anyone not pureblood?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.

"If you are implying it's Malfoy-"

"Of course I am! Look what he called you!" Ron pointed out.

"Fair point." Hermione conceded. "And I know how we can prove it."

"How?" Neville, Harry, and Ron asked at once.

"There's a potion Richman mentioned a few weeks back that allows the drinker to assume the appearance of someone else. It's called the Polyjuice Potion. If we each looked like one of the Slytherins, Malfoy would spill anything to us."

"Good idea, how can we look like any of the Slytherins?" Harry asked, confused.

"Bigger question is how are we going to do it without being caught." Neville pointed out.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We just take a bit of whoever we're assuming the form of and add it at the end before we drink it. We'll need to make sure that they can't run in while we're interrogating the toe rag."

"Where can we find a recipe for the potion?" Harry asked. "I doubt that's a run-of-the-mill potion." Harry asked.

"It's in a book called_ Most Potente Potions. _And I know it's in the Restricted Section." Hermione said, grimly. "Which means we need someone to sign the permission slip."

"Who would be thick enough to sign that kind of slip for us?" Ron asked, thoughtfully.

"I know who would." Neville said, fighting a smile. "Time to go ask Lockhart for a favor from his budding star prodigy." He added, his smile disappearing into a grim expression.

Ron, Harry, and Neville grinned as they went back to working on their homework.

Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were becoming more embarrassing as time passed. One class in early November was particularly embarrassing, as Lockhart insisted that Neville help him re-enact his books.

"That's it, Neville, howl a little louder, get into the character!" Lockhart shouted, as Neville turned pink, obeying despite the whole class was staring at him. "And then I pinned him and performed the _extremely _complicated Homorphus Charm and _bam!_ He turned back into his human self. And that's how I saved the town from the monthly terror."

There was a smattering of applause as Lockhart let Neville get to his feet. Neville returned to his seat, his face now scarlet with humiliation. "Sorry, mate. You did make a good werewolf though." Ron smirked, looking over at Neville.

"Shut up, or I'll smack the freckles off you." Neville muttered, not looking at him.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, Hermione lagged behind as the classroom emptied. Neville, Ron, and Harry waited at the door for her. "Professor Lockhart?" She asked, approaching his desk.

"Miss Granger! You shouldn't be lollygagging or you'll be late for your next class!" Professor Lockhart admonished, wagging a finger at her. "We don't want you in detention, missy."

"My apologies, Professor." Hermione had turned pink at his last words. "I was hoping that-you know how I am about books-I was hoping you would be willing to sign this permission slip for me to get this-oh-" Hermione gave a little start of surprise as Professor Lockhart took the permission slip from her, at the same time pulling out a large peacock quill. "Thank you, Professor." She squeaked as he finished signing the parchment with a flourish and handing it back.

"Enjoy that book, Miss Granger." Professor Lockhart gave her a toothy smile before Hermione bustled out of the room.

Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Neville hurried down the corridor toward the library. They arrived at Madam Pince's desk, where Hermione reluctantly handed the permission slip to the librarian. As she disappeared among the shelves, Ron turned to Hermione with a grin. "I'm sure we can get you another autograph, Hermione. The man will sign anything that would hold still long enough."

Hermione turned a deeper shade of pink and smacked his arm, shushing him. Madam Pince returned with a large, very old book, and handed it over. Hermione took it and they left, trying not to look too guilty as they hurried for Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

As soon as Harry locked the door behind them. Hermione sat on the floor and poured over the book, turning yellowed pages. "This is the most awful book I have seen in my life." Hermione whispered, looking revolted. "The potions in this book…" She shuddered, before finding the right potion. "The Polyjuice Potion, here it is. This is a really complicated potion, I've never seen one more difficult."

"Can we make it?" Harry asked, anxiously.

"Yes, but we'll have to do a lot of theft. Lacewing flies…Bicorn horn…Boomslang…Almost everything on this list we can get really easily, they're in the store cupboards. However, the Bicorn horn is going to be a little tricky to get and the Boomslang is probably in Richman's private store."

"How long will it take for you to make it?" Ron asked, anxiously.

"A month." Hermione answered, closing the book.

"A month? But half of the Muggle-borns could be attacked by then!" Ron said, outraged.

"We have no choice. If we're going to get the truth out of Malfoy and stop his plans, this is the way." Hermione explained, getting to her feet. "Let's get out of here before we disturb Myrtle."

Harry slipped out of the room, with the others following behind him. "Poking the dragon who's trying to kick us out? I'm _so _looking forward to that." Ron rolled his eyes. Harry and Neville snorted in laughter.


	11. Rogue Helper

Chapter 11: Rogue Helper

The morning of the first Quidditch match of the season arrived finally. Neville, Ron, and Hermione took their seats in the stands as the Gryffindor team entered the stadium to cheers from the scarlet-and-gold clad spectators. Boos and hisses issued from the green-and-silver clad spectators on the other side.

"I hope Harry can catch the Snitch, quickly, those Nimbus 2001s are going to make this an unfair match without it." Neville said, grimly.

"He can do it, he's never failed to catch it in a match. At least one that he's not missed."

"There they go." Hermione said, bringing her binoculars to her eyes and focusing on the pitch. "And of course, the Slytherin captain is trying to crush Oliver's hand."

"Of course." Ron rolled his eyes.

Fourteen players rose on broomsticks and the game commenced. The Slytherin team's brooms were so fast that it was hard to keep track as they were just green and silver blurs. They were ahead as Hermione watched Harry search for the Snitch.

"Wait, what's going on?" Ron demanded, suddenly. "That Bludger is only going after Harry!"

Neville and Hermione looked to where Harry was. Indeed, every time Harry dodged one of the Bludgers, or one of the Weasley twins knocked it away, the Bludger would change course and charge after him again.

"Someone's messed with tha' Bludger." A voice behind them puffed and panted. Hermione, Ron and Neville looked back to see Hagrid squeezing through the row behind them to sit down. "I was watchin' from me hut. Bludgers are supposed ter not target one player, but try ter knock anyone they can off their brooms."

"We need to let someone know!" Hermione said, shrilly, turning back to the pitch.

"Never mind, Hermione, they just called time-out." Ron pointed out, as the whistle blew.

"They need ter call an end to the game and look into tha' Bludger, I say." Hagrid growled.

After a short, furious discussion between the Gryffindor team, the game commenced. "Why on earth would Oliver not stop the game?"

"I bet anything it's Harry. He wouldn't want to forfeit the game just because he's got a rogue Bludger on his tail." Neville said, grimly.

"Stupid, stupid." Hermione moaned, grabbing Ron's arm and squeezing.

"Watch it, Hermione. You're squeezing really hard." Ron complained but she shushed him.

Harry flew over them to dodge the Bludger. Seeing an opening, Neville raised his wand to try to destroy it. Harry changed direction and, too slow to alter its course, the Bluger slammed into Neville's forearm. "Ah, my arm!" Neville moaned, as the Bludger streaked past.

"Neville! Your arm!" Hermione cried, horrified. Ron gave Neville an anxious look.

"I'll be fine," Neville panted. "Keep cheering for Harry."

Hermione looked back at Harry, who was flying over the pitch again. After a few minutes, Hermione gave a cry of surprise, "I think Harry's spotted the Snitch! Go Harry, go!"

Ron sniggered, as he spotted that Hermione was right. The Snitch was hovering an inch from Malfoy's left ear. "Malfoy doesn't even see it!"

They spotted Harry take a dive, one hand reaching for the Snitch. He overbalanced and landed with a _flump_, and a cloud of dust onto the pitch.

"Oh my god!" Hermione cried, as she hurried ahead of them to the field. Neville followed, holding his broken arm.

They arrived as Lockhart arrived first. He clucked his tongue. "Shame, a broken arm? I can fix it in a jiffy. Hold still, Neville."

"No, no, I want Madam Pomfrey to do it-" Neville started to say when Lockhart pointed his wand at his arm. There was a flash of light and the people standing around him groaned in disgust. "What?"

"This often happens, it's no big deal. Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you get him up to the hospital wing?" Lockhart asked, stowing his wand in his robes, as the teachers arrived.

Neville looked down at his arm and gasped in shock. His arm had taken on the appearance of a limp flesh-colored glove. "He removed all the bones in my arm, I can't believe it." He muttered, shaking his head, as Ron and Hermione, and Harry helped Neville to the castle.

Madam Pomfrey hurried over as they entered the hospital wing. "You should have brought him right over. Mending bones is a cinch, but regrowing them? That's a whole different beast. Get him undressed and I'll bring the Skele-Grow."

"Skele-Grow?" Harry asked, with a grimace. "Sorry, mate. My dad had to take that once and he said it tasted awful." He shook his head.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "What would you expect it to taste like? Pumpkin juice? Now hurry up, you're in for a rough night, Neville."

Ron helped Neville into a set of pajamas. They had trouble getting the bad arm into the sleeve, however. Finally, Neville got into bed as Madam Pomfrey returned with a bottle of potion. "Drink up, Neville." She told him, pouring a goblet of the potion.

Neville drank the potion, coughing and spluttering as he tasted it. "Your dad wasn't kidding, Harry." He choked.

"The patient needs his rest, everybody out." Madam Pomfrey shooed Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of the room. Neville fell asleep, his arm prickling, uncomfortably.

Neville awoke as suddenly as if someone had shouted in his ear. The moonlight shone through the windows behind his head, illuminating a small house-elf sitting on his chest. "Neville Longbottom!" The elf squeaked, large tennis ball eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"Dobby! What are you doing here?" Neville asked, sitting up. His mended arm felt like it was full of splinters.

Tears pooled in Dobby's eyes. "Dobby hoped that his Bludger would send Neville Longbottom home. Neville Longbottom _must_ go home for Neville Longbottom's own good!"

"Wait, _you _set the Bludger after me?" Neville gasped. "Why would you do that? You almost had me killed!"

"Dobby did not want to kill Neville Longbottom! Just sent home!" Dobby quivered in fear. "History is repeating itself at Hogwarts, and Neville Longbottom is in grave danger!"

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?"

Dobby quivered in fear. They both heard footsteps and with a _crack_ Dobby vanished.

Neville feigned sleep as the footsteps neared. He cracked his eyes open as Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Pomfrey entered, the former two carrying something to a bed. "What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered.

"Another attack. He was found in the same hall like this." Professor McGonagall answered, her usual brisk voice a little strained.

"Maybe he got a picture of his attacker?" Madam Pomfrey asked, anxiously.

Professor Dumbledore reached for something Neville couldn't see. A moment later, there was an acrid smell of something burning. "Apparently not." Professor Dumbledore said, softly.

"What does that mean?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"That the Chamber of Secrets has indeed, been opened." Professor Dumbledore said, gravely.

As they moved away from the bed, Neville got a good look at the occupant now illuminated by the moonlight streaming from the window. Colin Creevey lay frozen with his camera clutched in his hand against his eye. Neville's stomach sank with dread.


	12. Brewing and Dueling

Chapter 12: Brewing and Dueling

Neville was released from the hospital wing the next morning and hurried up to the common room. He did not see Ron, Hermione, or Harry in either of the chairs by the fire. "Hey, have you seen Ron, Harry, or Hermione today?" He asked Seamus, who was in one of their usual seats with Dean.

"Yeah, they left earlier, saying they were going to the library to research some potion for class." Dean answered.

"Potion, right. I'll go look for them." Neville thanked Dean and Seamus and headed out of the common room. There was only one place they would be if they told Dean they were "researching". Neville headed to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He slipped into the bathroom and said quietly, "It's me."

"Neville, good to see you. How's your arm?" Hermione asked. She was sitting in front of an old cauldron with Harry and Ron on either side. She had conjured blue flames beneath the cauldron, which was already emitting steam.

"All healed. Just a little stiff." Neville nodded. "How's it going?"

"Got it started. We'll have to plan how to steal the Boomslang skin. But that is added almost at the end." Hermione said, stirring the cauldron.

"You would not believe what I heard last night-"

"We heard about Colin Creevey. It's all over the school." Hermione said, giving the three boys an anxious look.

"It wasn't about Colin. Well, I did see when they brought him in, but that's not all." Neville quickly told them about Dobby's arrival in the hospital wing and what he said.

"That's it! Malfoy's dad must have opened it when he was at Hogwarts and told him how to do it!" Ron hypothesized. "It fits!"

"I'm not so sure Malfoy could pull something like that off." Hermione said, skeptically. "But after we use the Polyjuice Potion, we'll find out exactly what he knows about it. On that topic," She looked around at the others. "I think I should do the actual theft, since you two are one toe out of line away from being expelled. Can you cause a distraction, Harry?"

Harry grinned. "Do you actually doubt me, Hermione?"

Hermione cracked a smile, while Ron roared with laughter. "We better get to class, can you cause a distraction in today's Potions?"

"No problem." Harry grinned, then turned serious. "Be careful, Hermione."

Hermione turned pink and merely hid the cauldron. She got to her feet, heading for the door. The other three followed.

"Today we will be working on the Swelling Solution. You will find the ingredients on the board-" Richman pointed his wand at the blackboard, where writing appeared in chalk. "You have the rest of the lesson to attempt it. Get started."

Neville tried to concentrate on his potion, but his mind kept wandering to what would happen if they got caught. With five minutes left until the bell, he looked up and saw Hermione give Harry a nod. Harry took a Fillibuster Firework out of his pocket and prodded it with his wand, sending it sailing into Goyle's cauldron. The potion exploded, showering everyone nearby.

"SILENCE!" Richman shouted, as the ones splashed by the potion began to swell at the point in which they had been hit by it. "Everyone who has been hit by the potion, come forward and I will administer a Deflating Draught."

As the affected students came forward, various parts of their body swollen. Neville saw Hermione slip into the back area where the store cupboards were.

After the students were back to normal, Richman walked over to Goyle's cauldron and withdrew a burnt firework with his wand. "When I find out who threw this, I will make sure he or she is expelled." He said coldly, his eyes landing on Harry and Neville. He did not notice Hermione slip back in, robes bulging.

The bell rang and the class packed their stuff away before heading out of the dungeon. "Did you get what we need?" Harry asked, nervously.

"Yes, we have all we need. Now we just wait." Hermione gave him a smile, her cheeks pink.

"Good. Now we'll just have to hope we don't need it." Harry said grimly.

A week later, Neville, Ron, and Harry headed down to the common room to leave Gryffindor Tower for breakfast when they spotted a sign posted on the notice board. Several students were gathered around it, making it hard to see. Hermione arrived at the same time. "What's going on?"

"A new notice was put up overnight." Harry told her.

"What does it say?" Neville asked, too short to read the sign.

Ron, who was tall enough, read it quickly. "Awesome, they're starting a duel club. It meets tonight in the Great Hall. I'd love to learn to duel."

"Yeah, it would be fun to learn how to duel to protect ourselves." Neville nodded.

That night, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville headed down to the Great Hall, where a large space had been cleared for the meeting. Professors Lockhart and Richman were waiting for them, the former being in robes of lilac, and beaming. "Welcome, students, to our little club!" Lockhart managed to show every tooth even when he was talking. "I thought we'd start off with a little demonstration, and Professor Richman has delightedly volunteered."

"Fat chance." Ron muttered, with a snort.

Richman and Lockhart moved into position, a few feet apart, facing each other. "When dueling, you bow to your opponent." Lockhart instructed, bestowing a sweeping bow to Richman.

Richman gave a jerky movement that looked like a quick bow. Before Lockhart could strike, however, Richman raised his wand, crying, _"Expelliarmus!"_

The force of the spell sent Lockhart flying, landing on the floor a few feet away and skidding along on his back. "Is he all right?" Hermione asked anxiously, standing on tiptoes.

"Blimey, Hermione, who cares?" Harry cried, happily.

Lockhart struggled to his feet with Lavender Brown's help. "Thank you, Miss Brown. I think that's enough of a demonstration. Everyone pair up and you can practice Disarming."

Lockhart and Richman moved around, pairing everyone up. Richman reached them first. "Ah, no need to partner with Weasley, Potter. I'm breaking you two up. Longbottom, pair up with Finch-Fletchley. Weasley, pair up with Finnigan. Potter, you're with Draco."

Neville sighed and went over to partner up with Justin. However, after a few minutes of practicing, fights were breaking out all over.

"Stop, stop, STOP!" Lockhart shouted. There was a bang and they looked around. Richman had raised his wand in the air, setting off a bang.

"I think we should have Draco and Potter show what they can do." Richman said coldly, gazing down at Harry and Draco. "Come forward, you two."

"I can see your knees quaking." Malfoy smirked as he passed.

"You wish." Harry said, coldly.

Harry walked over to where Lockhart was standing, and Draco walked over to where Richman was standing. "Harry, when he does this, you should do this-" Lockhart made a complicated wand movement and dropped it.

"Right." Harry nodded, keeping an eye on Malfoy. Richman was whispering in Draco's ear.

Harry and Draco bowed. Before Harry could strike, Malfoy pointed his wand and cried, _"Serpensortia!"_

Many in the crowd screamed as a live, jet black snake erupted from Malfoy's wand, hissing, angrily. "No worries, everyone. I can get rid of it." Lockhart assured them waving his wand. The snake flew into the air and landed in front of Justin Finch-Fletchley, hissing worse than ever. There were more screams and many people backed away from Justin, who was too scared to move.

Neville moved forward without realizing it and shouted, "_Leave him alone!"_ He looked up, expecting relief to cross Justin's face. However, Justin looked angry, a reaction that confused Neville.

"What are you playing at, Longbottom?" Justin demanded, angrily.

Richman stepped forward and waved his wand, causing the snake to disappear in a puff of smoke. He stared down at Neville, confused.

"You're all dismissed, hurry up and get back to your common room." Lockhart said, briskly, clapping his hands.

Neville hurried out of the Great Hall and Hermione, Ron, and Harry caught up with them as he reached an empty corridor. "Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked, anxiously.

"Tell you what?" Neville asked, confused.

"You can talk to snakes!" Harry and Ron said at once.

"I can?" Neville asked, blankly.

"You weren't speaking English in there, mate." Ron told him. "You were hissing and spitting. It sounded like you were egging the snake on or something."

"I only told it to leave Justin alone!" Neville insisted, furiously.

"Now the whole school will think you're Slytherin's heir." Harry said, his face pale.

"Just because I can speak to snakes, that makes me Slytherin's heir?" Neville looked confused.

"Slytherin was famous for being a Parselmouth. And there's no way to prove you're not." Hermione said, fearfuly. "For all we know you are."

Neville sighed. "We better get going, we don't want to be caught out of bed."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville headed back to Gryffindor Tower, Neville lost in thought.


	13. Double Attack

Chapter 13: Double Attack

The morning after the Dueling Club event, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were sitting around the common room fire while Harry and Ron were playing chess while Neville watched. Hermione was curled up in a chair nearby, reading a book. Their last class of term, Herbology, had been canceled due to the snow that had fallen overnight.

"Justin must think I set that snake on him last night." Neville fretted, watching Ron's queen drag a pawn off the chessboard.

Hermione set down her book and gazed at Neville. "If you think it's important to explain yourself, go find him. I'm sure if you explain what happened, he'll understand."

"That's a good idea, I'll go do that." Neville nodded, getting to his feet. He headed out of the common room, trying to decide where to look for Justin.

Deciding that it was likely that Justin was spending his time in the library, Neville headed there first. He wandered through the shelves, looking for Justin. He stopped suddenly, having heard voices coming from the other side of the shelves.

"…hiding out in his dormitory. After he let slip he was a Muggle-born, he's been afraid something like this would happen. Now that Longbottom's made it clear he's after him, he's not taking any chances." A pompous voice could be heard in a whisper.

"You sure he's the heir of Slytherin, Ernie?" an anxious girl's voice answered, in a whisper.

"Slytherin was famous for being a Parselmouth. And how many _good_ witches or wizards have you heard of that could speak it? Anyway, no one knows how he got rid of You-Know-Who. He could be a powerful Dark wizard, for all we know." The first voice responded at once.

Neville cleared his throat and stepped out from behind the case so they could see him. The group of Hufflepuffs looked frightened for a moment before the boy named Ernie spoke up angrily, "What do you want?"

"I was wanting to see Justin and explain what happened last night." Neville answered, irritated.

"We all saw what happened last night, you were egging that snake on!" the girl sitting beside Ernie answered at once, shaking her head so her blond pigtails whipped about.

"That is _not _what happened! I was trying to get the snake to stop!" Neville insisted, his temper rising. "Why would I want to attack Muggle-borns?"

"I don't know. Filch tried to punish you before his cat attacked, and everyone knows you've been annoyed by Colin." Ernie pointed out.

"I don't care if you believe me or not." Neville snapped, before storming out of the library.

Not having been paying attention to where he was going, Neville ran into something solid but soft. He stumbled back and looked up to see the beaming face of Hagrid. "Neville, what a pleasan' surprise! What are yeh doing out of class?"

"It was canceled." Neville answered, steadying himself. He spotted a dead rooster in Hagrid's large fist. "What are you doing with a dead rooster, Hagrid?"

"Somethin's bin killing them. I was just heading up ter the headmaster's office to ask Dumbledore if he'd let me put a protective charm aroun' the chicken pen."

"Good luck." Neville nodded as Hagrid lumbered away. He walked on, heading back to the common room. Something caught his foot and he sprawled, landing on top of something. "What the-?" He looked down and realized what he'd tripped over was the Petrified body of Justin Finch-Fletchley. Stumbling back in horror, he spotted Nearly Headless Nick floating in front of him, black as smoke and head hanging. "Oh no, oh no…"

Peeves zoomed past Neville stopping dead in midair as he caught sight of the strange image. Before Neville could say anything, Peeves shouted. "ANOTHER ATTACK! DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR! NO ONE IS SAFE, EVEN GHOSTS!"

Neville looked anxiously around, frantic for a hiding place, as the sound of footsteps thundered in his ears all around him. Professor McGonagall arrived first with her class, stopping as she spotted Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. Her face drained of color.

"Professor, I can explain-"

"It's out of my hands, Longbottom. This is a matter for the headmaster to hear. Come with me." Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and headed away from the scene. Neville followed, his heart sinking.

Professor kept walking until she reached an empty corridor with a stone gargoyle standing guard. "Lemon drop." She informed the gargoyle, which leapt aside, revealing a stone staircase. Neville followed behind Professor McGonagall and the stairs began to move, ascending higher and higher. Finally, it stopped before a wooden door with a griffin knocker. She opened the door and led him inside. "Stay here and wait for the headmaster." She instructed before leaving the office.

The first thing Neville noticed was there was so much to see within the office. Instruments that Neville did not know the names of puffed merrily on a spindle-legged table. The walls all around the room were covered in portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses. Neville noticed a shelf to his left contained an old wizard's hat that was patched and frayed, that he recognized as the Sorting Hat.

Getting to his feet, Neville approached the shelf, and removed the hat from it, placing it on his head. It slipped over his eyes as it did the last time he had put it on. After a moment, a voice whispered his ear. "Something on your mind, Neville Longbottom?"

"Yes, I was wondering if you might have made a mistake when you suggested that I belong in Slytherin." Neville said, awkwardly.

"Ah, you want to know if I still believe you belonged in Slytherin?" The Hat responded at once.

"Yes." Neville nodded.

"I got a good look at your mind that night, Neville Longbottom. Everything there said you would have been better in Slytherin. However, it is the good qualities and the bad, as well as our actions that make us who we are. Remember that."

The Hat went silent and Neville removed the hat, more confused than ever. A choking sound came from near the door and Neville looked up, startled. A swan-sized scarlet bird that looked half-plucked appeared to be choking from its golden perch by the door. Unsure what to do, Neville looked around anxiously for something that would help. Suddenly, in a burst of light, the bird caught fire and smoldered to ash before Neville could do anything to stop it.

At that exact moment, the door opened and Dumbledore stepped in, looking the same as usual. "Neville, Professor McGonagall told me you were here."

"Professor, I'm sorry, your bird just caught fire and I-" Neville looked confused as Dumbledore smiled. "Professor, what-?"

"It's about time. I've been telling him for days to just let go. He's been looking dreadful for weeks." Dumbledore looked up at the confused look on Neville's face. "Fawkes is a phoenix. When they die they are reborn from their own ashes. I'm sorry you had to see him on his Burning Day."

Neville looked again and saw a featherless baby bird poke its ugly head out of the pile of ashes. Dumbledore gave it a fond smile and sat behind his desk. "Professor McGonagall told me you found Mr. Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick?"

"Yes, but-" The door opened again, interrupting Neville's explanation. Hagrid had burst into the office, panting, and still clutching the dead rooster.

"Professor Dumbledore! Neville didn't attack anyone! He was with me the whole time!" Hagrid panted.

"Hagrid." Dumbledore interrupted, holding up a hand. "I do not think Neville attacked anyone."

Hagrid looked flustered at these words. "Righ', well, I'll have you go back to discussin'." He turned and stomped out of the office.

"You believe me?" Neville asked, looking back at Dumbledore.

"Of course, no second year student could do that to anyone." Dumbledore gave him a brief smile before leveling a look at him. "Now I must ask you, Neville, is there anything you have to tell me, anything at all?"

Neville immediately thought of the Polyjuice Potion brewing in the girls' bathroom and shook his head to dispel it. "No, sir."

"Very well, get back to class. And stay out of trouble." Dumbledore said, evidently dismissing him.

Neville got up and hurried out of the office, his mind racing.


	14. Changing Visage

Chapter 14: Changing Visage

The Christmas holidays began and Neville was relieved that most of the students had gone home on the Hogwarts Express. The ones that remained eyed him warily as they passed him, staying huddled together as though for protection. While it annoyed Neville and Hermione, Fred and George took a different tact.

"Out of the way, his Royal Hissiness coming through!" Fred called, to snickers from George.

"Yeah, he's off to have breakfast with the Heir of Slytherin!" George called, as the pair escorted him down the hall.

"Enough." Neville grumbled, shaking off Fred and George. The twins chortled as they headed down the hall without him.

"Do you see the expression on Malfoy's face?" Harry whispered as they passed by a group of Slytherins. Indeed, Malfoy looked furious at the reaction Neville was getting. "He's dying to admit it's him."

"We won't have to wait long, the potion's nearly done." Hermione answered at once, with a satisfied expression.

Christmas Day arrived with snow swirling past Neville's dormitory window. He got out of bed and dressed, noticing a pile of presents lying at the foot of his bed. "Presents! I didn't know how it worked here." He exclaimed, reaching for the nearest present.

"Yeah, my Dad said the house-elves deliver that overnight." Harry answered happily, unwrapping a scarlet sweater with a gold H knitted on it. "Ron, your mum must have sent me one of her infamous sweaters."

"Don't let my mum catch you calling it infamous." Ron grumbled, unwrapping his own sweater, which was maroon. "She knows I hate maroon."

Harry unwrapped another parcel, which was a box of Chocolate Frogs, a miniature flying broom, and Christmas card. "That's awesome!" Harry cried, letting the flying broom go, watching it zoom around his head. "They also sent a Christmas card."

"Let me see!" Neville said anxiously, as he joined the other three boys around Harry's bed. They looked down and saw the Christmas card had a wizarding photo of Lily in a green sweater, her dark red hair pinned back. In her arms was a fussy baby with dark red hair, which clashed with the red suit and black booties he was wearing. James and Sirius stood on either side of Lily, both beaming at the camera. Marie was standing in front of her father, her red hair the exact shade as Lily's.

Ron sniggered. "They dressed him up like Father Christmas?"

Harry snorted. "Yeah, Mum really likes doing things like that for Christmas."

"Looks like you got a Weasley sweater, too." Ron nodded to the next parcel and the top parcel on Neville's. When they looked at their pile, he stole a Chocolate Frog from Harry's pile.

Indeed, Harry and Neville each found a Weasley sweater, a treacle fudge, and a plum cakes from Mrs. Weasley. "I'm surprised she remembered me." Neville mumbled, turning pink.

"She's always thoughtful about that." Ron said, around a mouthful of chocolate. "I would have been more surprised if she hadn't."

"Did you steal one of my frogs?" Harry demanded, annoyed.

"Yeah, so? You have plenty." Ron finished the frog, smugly.

Harry pounced, grabbing a parcel near the bottom, sending the others tumbling. "Then I'll just return the favor." He got to his feet, holding the parcel high. Before he could say anything, the dormitory door burst open, and Hermione bounded in, flushed with excitement.

"What on earth are you two doing?" She demanded, looking between them.

"It's nothing." Harry shrugged, tossing the parcel back to Ron.

"Wait, how did you get in here? It's a _boys'_ dormitory." Ron asked, puzzled.

Hermione ignored his comment as Dean and Seamus headed out of the room. "It's ready."

"What? The potion is ready?" Harry and Ron exclaimed, forgetting the argument at once.

Hermione nodded. "I've been up since dawn finishing it. All we need is a bit of four Slytherins."

"How are we going to get it?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like we just get together once a month and swap bits of each other."

"I've already got mine." Hermione said smugly, pulling a small vial out of her robe pocket. "Millicent Bulstrode left this on my robes at the Duel Club."

"And how do you suggest we get ours?" Neville asked, raising an eyebrow as well.

Hermione reached into her robes again and pulled out three chocolate cakes. "I've filled these with a Sleeping Draught. It is very simple, but it will knock them out long enough for us to interrogate Malfoy."

"So all we would need is to lure some idiot Slytherins to eat them." Harry nodded. "Bet it's Crabbe and Goyle. They stuff their faces enough at dinner that it won't matter where it came from."

"Exactly. And whoever shows up and eats it will give you hair for yours, Neville." Hermione nodded. "We better go down for breakfast."

Hermione put away the cakes and led them downstairs.

That evening after dinner, Hermione met them in the entrance hall. Pointing her wand at the cakes, she muttered_, "Wingardium Leviosa."_ The cakes floated in midair near the banister of the marble staircase. "We need to hide."

The four of them hid nearby and waited. It only took a few moments before three Slytherin boys left the Great Hall. Two they recognized as Crabbe and Goyle, one they vaguely knew and loathed, named Nott. "Hey look!" They heard Nott exclaim in his sniveling voice, and saw him point to the floating cakes. The three Slytherins grabbed the cakes and ate them quickly, munching happily. It took only a minute. They keeled over, unconscious.

"What morons!" Ron whispered. "Why couldn't they figure out it was drugged?"

"Let's go, we need to hide them before someone spots them!" Hermione urged, leading the way out of their hiding place.

Ron, Harry, and Neville pulled the three unconscious Slytherins into a broom closet and removed hair, robes, and shoes. "Let's get this over with, I can only imagine how that potion is going to taste with Goyle's hair in it." Harry grumbled, following the other three upstairs to the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Hermione hurried to the cauldron where a mud-like substance bubbled within. She scooped the potion into four small glasses and passed three to them, keeping the fourth. "Add the hair." She instructed, adding her hairs to her potion.

The other three added their hairs to the potion. At once, Hermione's turned a sickly yellow, Harry's turned a shade reminiscent of boogers, Ron's turned a murky brown, and Neville's turned a deep red.

"Mine looks disgusting." Harry made a face, sniffing the potion and wincing.

"At least yours doesn't look like blood." Neville answered with a grimace.

"We might as well take it, we've got an hour from when it takes effect to get there and interrogate Malfoy." Hermione answered. They entered separate stalls.

At the same time, the four of them drank the potion, grimacing at the taste. At once, the transformation began, their skin bubbling. They gasped and grimaced in pain until finally it stopped.

"Everyone all right?" Ron grunted, in Crabbe's voice.

"Yeah, I think so. What about you, Nev-er Nott?" Harry asked, in a raspy voice.

"I'm fine, I think." Neville answered, in Nott's voice.

"Hermione, you okay?" Ron asked, anxiously.

"I'm fine! Go ahead, the clock's ticking, you only have an hour!" Hermione responded at once, in a high-pitched voice.

"Is that what Millicent Bulstrode sounds like?" Harry asked. "We'll be back, Hermione."

"Good luck!" Hermione called, as they changed into the stolen robes.

"We better hurry up and find the Slytherin common room. I bet that's where Malfoy is." Harry suggested, as they hurried down the corridor.

"Do you know where they have their common room?" Neville asked, frowning.

"I've always seen them coming up the stairs that lead down to the dungeon." Harry pointed, as they reached the entrance hall.

Harry, Neville, and Ron hurried down the stairs and kept an eye out for the common room. "There you are!" Said a drawling voice from behind them. They turned and saw Malfoy approaching them. "I was wondering where you three went."

"Went back for dessert." Ron grunted, shrugging his massive shoulders.

Malfoy snorted. "You are the last one that needs more cake, Crabbe." He led them down the corridor and stopped before a bare stretch of stone wall. "Pure-blood."

A door handle materialized in the shape of a serpent. Malfoy pulled on it, revealing a hidden door and led them inside.

From the light in the Slytherin common room, it was clear that it was under the lake. Malfoy lounged on an armchair as he said, "My father sent me a copy of the _Daily Prophet _for me to pass around for everyone to get a laugh at."

"Oh?" Harry asked, trying to look unconcerned.

"I've got the article somewhere around here." Malfoy dug through the pile of papers on the table beside his chair and pulled out a _Daily Prophet_ issue. "You should get a laugh out of this."

Ron took the newspaper, looked at the headline and gave a forced laugh before passing it to Neville and Harry. Neville saw that the story was about how Arthur Weasley was being fined for the flying Ford Anglia.

"Pathetic, the whole lot of them. They should be ashamed to call themselves pure-blood with that Muggle-lover they call a father. Almost as bad as Longbottom. He is the _famous_ Longbottom. Everyone loves him. That Creevey kid is following him like a lost puppy, it's sickening. And everyone thinks _he's _the heir of Slytherin." He snorted.

Neville's heart leapt. He tried to sound offhand as he asked, "Do you know who it is?"

"Haven't I told you three? I have no clue who it is. My father has told me to just lay low and let him do his work. But he did tell me one thing." He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "It was opened before. Fifty years ago, the Chamber was opened and a Mudblood died. Shame if it isn't Granger this time." Malfoy snorted, making a cruel impression of Hermione before laughing loudly.

Neville turned to Harry and Ron in anger and saw that Ron's hair was starting to redden. Their time was up. "Need to go to the hospital wing, stomach ache." Ron muttered, getting to his feet.

"What? Whatever." Malfoy dismissed them as they dashed out of the common room.

They kept running until they had reached Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "That was close." Harry panted.

"Hermione, come on out, we have so much to tell you." Ron rapped on the stall door. He had returned to his own appearance.

Moaning Myrtle shot out of the nearest stall, looking happier than they had ever seen her. "Wait till you see what she looks like. It's awful."

"Come on, Hermione, you can't look bad, it's just Millicent Bulstrode."

The door creaked open and they stepped back. Hermione stood there, but something was wrong. Her face was covered in black fur and a tail twitched angrily behind her. "It was cat hair!" She said, angrily. "The Polyjuice Potion isn't designed for animal transformations!"

Ron, Neville, and Harry looked at each other before helping her up to the hospital wing.


	15. Myrtle's Misery

Chapter 15: Myrtle's Misery

The new term started with rumors spreading abound about Hermione. It got to the point that people were trying to sneak into the hospital wing to see her. For her privacy, Madam Pomfrey kept a curtain around Hermione's bed, only allowing Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hagrid to visit her. She still had fur on her face, but she was improving daily.

"Hermione, why do you insist on doing your homework when you're in the hospital wing?" Neville asked as Harry gave her a stack of homework for the classes she was missing.

"Yeah, if I'd sprouted a tail, I'd refuse to do any homework." Ron replied, reaching for a Chocolate Frog on Hermione's bedside table. "Do you mind if I have one of those?"

Hermione smacked his hand away. "Ron, those are from Lockhart, you don't get any. After all, you didn't send me anything."

Ron gave Harry and Neville a bewildered look as Hermione continued. "Besides, if I didn't do my homework when I was in the hospital wing, I would be dreadfully behind the rest of the class, and I would never catch up. By the way, Harry. Did your mum send you a picture of Autumn?"

"Er, yeah." Harry answered, startled by the abrupt change in the conversation. He reached into his robe pocket and extracted the photograph, passing it to her.

"He's adorable, Harry! I wish I had a baby brother. I only have a little sister, now." Hermione replied, shrugging.

"Wait, what? When did your mum have a baby?!" Ron asked, shocked.

"Oh right, I haven't told you yet!" Hermione's eyes shone with fervor the boys associated with schoolwork. "Mum and Dad met this ten-year-old that was brought into the dental office for a cleaning. She's been bounced around the system because, well, she's a witch, and of course the Muggle foster parents didn't understand her. I asked Dumbledore and he says that magical abilities start appearing about the time she started having trouble finding a placement."

"What in the bloody hell is a foster system?" Ron asked, bewildered. "Never heard of such rubbish."

"If a Muggle child doesn't have parents for some reason, they are put in the system that helps them find a family." Hermione explained. "I don't know what would have happened if she hadn't found someone that understood her."

"What's her name?" Harry asked, sitting down beside her bed. "Is she going to start Hogwarts next year?"

"Her name is Callie and she will get her letter next year. It'll be amazing to have a protégé who actually will listen to me." Hermione gave the two boys a look, which made them exchange guilty looks. "Anyway, onto the Chamber of Secrets. Do you have any new leads?"

"Nothing really, all we found out was Malfoy isn't the Heir of Slytherin and the chamber was open fifty years ago."

"Fifty years ago? That must mean that his dad opened it!" Hermione said, excitedly. "Keep looking into it, we need to make sure that it doesn't open again."

Madam Pomfrey entered the hospital wing from her office just then, looking irritated. "Miss Granger needs her rest. Move along, boys."

Harry, Neville, and Ron left the hospital wing in a hurry, slowing down as a noise came from the floor above. "Is that Filch?" Harry asked, looking at the other two.

"He sounds furious, should we look into what's going on?" Neville asked, anxiously.

"If something happened, we should go see what it is." Harry pointed out.

"We don't want to cause any more problems though. People are already saying _you're _the Heir of Slytherin." Ron pointed out, casting Neville a nervous look.

"Don't remind me," Neville muttered, leading the way up the stairs.

As they reached the corridor with Myrtle's bathroom on it, they heard Filch's muttering fade away. They caught snatches of what he was complaining about. "Someone flooded the corridor?" Harry asked, exchanging glances with the other two. "We better go check it out."

The three boys hurried to the bathroom and found the corridor floor covered with at least an inch of water. "Ugh, Myrtle must have flooded the corridor again." Ron groaned, making a disgusted face.

"We should go find out what's bothering her," Neville suggested, moving toward the door to the girls' bathroom. The other two boys followed.

Myrtle was floating several inches off the water-soaked floor, sobbing transparent tears. "Have you come to throw something at me, too?" She asked, miserably.

"No, of course not. Who threw something at you?" Harry asked, frowning.

"I don't know who it was. I was in my usual U-bend, thinking about death, and a book sailed through my head." Myrtle answered, sniffling.

"A book? Where did it land?" Neville asked, looking around.

"I think it landed over there." Myrtle pointed to a corner of the bathroom.

Neville approached the small black book lying on the flooded floor, but before he touched it, Ron called out in alarm, "Don't touch it, it could be dangerous! My dad told me about the Dark artifacts that are awful. They're disguised as ordinary objects."

"It looks like an ordinary book to me." Harry reasoned. "What harm could it do?"

Neville picked up the book and opened it. He found an address and date fifty years prior, along with the name "Tom M. Riddle". "Tom Riddle, who is that?" he asked, looking at the other two.

"I've heard that name before. He got a Special Services to the School Award like fifty years ago. I remember because it's the one I kept belching slugs on during detention. If you have to clean something a dozen times, you'll remember what it looks like, trust me."

"I still say it's a bad idea." Ron said, nervously.

Neville ignored him, pocketing the book.

Hermione returned from the hospital wing at the beginning of February. At the first chance, Neville showed her the book to get her opinon. "You found this in Myrtle's bathroom?" She asked, skeptically, as she turned the pages.

"Yeah, someone threw it away and it sailed through Myrtle. What do you reckon?"

"This Tom Riddle was a Muggle-born, I bet," Hermione answered, spotting the address. "He would have only visited Vauxhall Road if he was."

"But it's completely blank." Harry pointed out.

"Maybe not." Hermione said at once, reaching into her bag. She pulled out her wand and an item that looked like an eraser. After several attempts to wrench a response out of the book, she sighed, handing the book back. "It might just be blank."

"Guess we'll never know." Neville sighed, pocketing the book again.

Neville couldn't find a reason to throw the book away, despite it being blank. He found himself perusing it when he had a chance, but the book remained a secret. Valentine's day arrived with everyone's mood lightening considerably, until they saw the nauseatingly pink decorations Lockhart had set up for the occasion. "I have a special surprise, everyone. I am sending around cupids to give your Valentine to that special someone! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!" Lockhart cried, beaming at everyone.

"Fat chance." Fred and George muttered together, making Harry, Neville, and Ron snigger in response.

As Neville, Ron, Harry, and Hermione headed upstairs to their first class of the day, a cupid blocked them on the stairs. "I have a singing valentine for you, Potter." He growled.

"I have to get to class." Harry moved to get passed him, but the cupid tripped him, sending him sprawling. Unfortunately, he tried to catch himself on Neville, who was nearby and ripped Neville's bulging school bag. Books, ink bottles, and quills scattered all over the stairs, splattering everything with ink.

Burning with humiliation, Harry was forced to hear the valentine and got to his feet afterward, avoiding looking at anyone. He helped Neville pick up the contents of the book and headed off to class. It was only after he had taken the chance to look at the Riddle book that he realized that despite being soaked in ink, there was not a drop on the pages. "What the-?" Neville wondered, confused. He shook his head, having no time to look into it further.

That night, Neville sat in bed after everyone was asleep, flipping through the pages of the book. Curious, he took out a quill and a bottle of ink and wrote _"My name is Neville Longbottom"_ on the first page.

The words disappeared quickly, replaced by the words _"Hello, Neville. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come across my diary?"_

Neville hastily wrote back _"Someone tossed it in the girls' bathroom at Hogwarts. Some weird things are happening here and I am afraid it's the same as it was fifty years ago. People are being attacked and the Heir of Slytherin is being accused. Do you know about the Chamber of Secrets."_

The reply was quick and hastily written "_Of course I know about the Chamber of Secrets. It was opened in my fifth year, and a girl died. I caught the person who did it and he was expelled. But knew that it was only a matter of time before it happened again. The monster still lives. I can show you what happened if you wish."_

Neville hastily wrote back _"Show me."_

The pages blew suddenly as if they were caught in a gust of wind until it reached halfway through June. A little black box appeared on the page, widening until Neville was sucked in. All went black.


	16. False Memory

Chapter 16: False Memory

When Neville opened his eyes, he found himself in the headmaster's office. But it was not the office he remembered. For one thing, none of the spindly instruments that littered the office, nor Fawkes's perch were in their usual places. Instead, a very frail-looking wizard in deep midnight robes was sitting behind the headmaster's desk. Bald except for a few wisps of hair, the man didn't look up from the letter he was reading. Neville realized that this must be the headmaster.

"Um, sorry for dropping in on you, but-" Neville paused when he realized that the headmaster didn't even react. Apparently, he was unable to be seen or heard by the headmaster.

Neville started as there was a knock on the door. "Come in." The wizard replied at once, folding the letter and stuffing it in the envelope.

A tall, pale, handsome teenager entered the office, shutting the door quietly behind him. "You wanted to see me, Headmaster?"

"Yes, Tom. I received your letter about your request to remain at Hogwarts over the summer holidays. I'm afraid I will have to decline your request, given recent events."

"You mean the attacks and the death of that girl?" Riddle asked, his face impassive.

"Yes, it is unfortunate, and the girl's parents want the culprit caught." The old man shuffled a stack of parchment on his desk to avoid looking at Riddle.

"And if the culprit is caught?" Riddle prompted.

The headmaster frowned at these words. "Tom, do you know anything about the attacks?"

"No, sir." Riddle said at once, but Neville could tell it was said the same way that he had answered Dumbledore.

"It's getting late, Tom. Hurry off to bed." The headmaster waved a hand, dismissing him.

Riddle left the office, heading down the corridor and down the stairs. Neville followed silently behind him. At the bottom of the staircase stood a tall, thin wizard with long auburn hair. With a shock, Neville realized that it was a younger version of Dumbledore. "Tom, what are you doing wandering the castle at this time of night?"

"I had to see the headmaster." Riddle explained.

"Head off to bed, then, Tom. It is unwise to linger on your own during these troubled times." Dumbledore nodded and mounted the steps, passing him as he continued upstairs.

Neville followed Riddle down the stairs to the passage to the dungeons. In the dungeons where he had Potions, movement could be heard ahead. As Riddle stepped closer, Neville saw the tall, broad figure of a large boy hunched over something. "In yeh go, that's a good lad." Neville heard a familiar voice.

"Rubeus, it's all over. You have to let the monster go. It killed that girl and her parents want the monster caught and killed." Riddle demanded, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the boy's broad back.

The boy spun around and held up his hands. "Aragog didn' hurt no one! He's harmless!" He insisted.

A jet of light shot at the object behind the boy and a bang sounded. Something with many hairy legs scuttled out, disappearing from view as Riddle shot more spells after it.

Neville felt himself being pulled away from the scene as the boy's yells echoed in his ears. He landed on his bed, panting, horrified.

The door opened and Ron and Harry entered the room, seeing Neville's horrified expression. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Hagrid." Neville panted, looking up at him. "Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago."

Over the next few days, Ron, Harry, and Hermione asked what had happened so many times that Neville got tired of answering them. "There's one question that remains, though." Hermione sighed, one afternoon.

"And what is that?" Harry asked, looking over at her.

"Should we ask Hagrid if he opened the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione asked, grimly.

"Oh yeah, that would be a happy occasion. 'Hey, Hagrid, have you sent a mad, hairy monster around the castle?'" Ron asked, snorting in amusement.

"Still-"

"I know what you mean." Neville nodded. He looked at the three of them. "I think we can let it lie unless someone else is attacked. There's no reason to talk unless the attacks continue. Agreed?"

"Agreed." The other three nodded.

As March arrived, there were no more attacks on students. The school went back to business as usual, the attacks a distant, unpleasant memory. Professor Sprout announced during one Herbology lesson that the Mandrakes had thrown a party, which indicated that they were closer to maturity. "Once they move into each other's pots, I'll know they're ready to be procured into a cure for those poor people in the hospital wing." She explained to Neville, Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"Good! Then they'll be able to tell us who attacked them and we won't have to ask Hagrid what happened." Ron said, quietly to the other three.

As the final Quidditch match of the season approached, the second years had something else to worry about. As third years, they would have the choices of taking electives, and pamphlets were set out to help them choose. "Wish I could get rid of Potions, Richman is insufferable." Harry muttered, looking over the pamphlets.

"Sorry, mate, we keep our old subjects. Otherwise, I'd dump Defense Against the Dark Arts. With Lockhart teaching, the only thing I've learned is not to release a cage of Cornish pixies." Ron answered darkly, tossing a pamphlet for Ancient Runes onto the pile.

"What do you have against Ancient Runes, Ron? I think the subject's fascinating." Hermione gave him a glare and snatched up the pamphlet.

"What subjects are you thinking of doing?" Neville asked, looking through the pamphlets.

"I want to try all of them, they all sound so great." Hermione said, absently, flipping through the Ancient Runes pamphlet.

"Not even you could handle that many subjects, Hermione." Ron shook his head.

When it came time to picking the subjects, Harry and Neville chose the same subjects as Ron, while Hermione chose as many subjects as she could.

Saturday afternoon Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione returned to the common room after a Quidditch practice to find Dean pacing the room, panicking. "I'm sorry, Neville, I was just up in the dormitory and-your-the-"

"What is it, Dean?" Neville asked, his stomach dropping.

"Someone's ransacked our dormitory." Dean answered, looking horrified. "Sorry, mate."

They hurried up to the dorm room. The room was indeed ransacked, sheets yanked off the bed, hangings torn, books pulled out of the cabinets. "Who could have done this?" Ron demanded, looking around.

"Only a Gryffindor would have access to our dormitory." Harry pointed out as Neville searched through the things. "Anything missing?"

Neville gave him a significant look and waited until Dean had left. "Yeah, whoever it was stole the diary."


	17. Suspension and Apprehension

Chapter 17: Suspension and Apprehension

The final match of the Quidditch season arrived to much speculation and excitement. Neville, Ron, and Hermione wished Harry good luck as they head for the front door. Neville paused suddenly as a voice hissed, _"Kill…rip…tear…"_

"Neville? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"That voice, I just heard it! Didn't you guys?"

As Ron shook his head, Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead. "I just realized something! I have to go look something up in the library!"

"Right before the match, Hermione? Are you mental?" Ron asked, incredulous.

"I'll be back in time for the match, go on!" Hermione hurried off in the direction of the library.

Ron shook his head. "Harry, we need to get you to the match, come on."

The three of them headed out to the pitch and Ron and Neville took their seats in the bleachers. Before the match started, however, Professor McGonagall hurried out onto the pitch. "This match is canceled. Everyone head to their common rooms, where your Head of House will give more information."

Ron and Neville hurried down to the pitch as she turned to Harry. "Come with me, Potter. You two as well." She said, gravely.

"What happened, Professor?" Ron asked, anxiously, as she led them to the hospital wing.

"There's been another double attack. The victim may come as a shock to you." Professor McGonagall led them into the hospital wing.

Lying stiff as a board on the two beds at the end of the wing were Hermione and a curly-haired girl. "No…Hermione…" Harry moaned, horrified by the sight.

"They were found next to this, do you know why that would be?" Professor McGonagall held up a compact mirror. Harry, Ron, and Neville shook their heads. "I have to go. I have to address the Gryffindor students. I will escort you back to the common room."

Harry, Ron, and Neville followed Professor McGonagall back to the common room in silence, where she announced the new rules set forth, such as a curfew and escorts between classes.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked the other two, quietly.

"I think we need to get out my dad's Invisibility Cloak again." Harry muttered, quietly.

Ten minutes after the rest of the Gryffindors had gone to bed, Harry had returned with his Invisibility Cloak. They left the common room and threw the Cloak over all three of them, heading to the front doors. They snuck down to Hagrid's hut and knocked.

At once a tense voice growled, "Who's there?"

"It's us, Hagrid, we're under the Cloak!" Harry answered.

Hagrid opened the door and he had a crossbow in hand. "Come in, hurry, and shut the door."

"What are you needing that crossbow for?" Harry asked, as they entered the hut and shut the door behind them.

"Was expecting-never mind, it's nothin'." Hagrid shrugged, but his hands shook as he made tea.

"I suppose you heard about Hermione?" Neville asked, removing the Cloak.

"Yeah, I heard, all righ'." Hagrid said, darkly.

Harry took a mug of tea from Hagrid just as there was a door knock. The sound startled Hagrid so much he dropped the mug he was holding, causing it to shatter on the wood floor. "Quick, hide under the Cloak!" Hagrid hissed.

Ron, Harry, and Neville disappeared under the Cloak and Hagrid went to the door to answer it. Dumbledore was at the door, followed by a man Harry, Ron, and Neville had only seen pictures of. "What is the Minister of Magic doing here?" Neville hissed.

"Shh!" Harry hissed back. "They'll hear us!"

"Hagrid, sorry to bother you this late. The Minister insisted on coming down to see you." Dumbledore answered, gravely.

"Sad business brings me here, Hagrid. Very sad business indeed. Four attacks on Muggle-borns and we're no closer to catching the culprit. The Ministry has to look like it's doing something, and with your record-" Fudge answered, promptly.

"I want it on the record that I fully stand by Hagrid." Dumbledore frowned down at Fudge.

"If he is proven innocent, he will be set free with a full apology. But we must take precautionary actions to prevent further attacks. We must take him in." Fudge answered, looking uncomfortable.

"Take me in? Take me in where?" Hagrid demanded, at once.

"Just for a while. Like I said you'll get our fully apology if it is determined-"

"I'm not going to Azkaban!" Hagrid bellowed, turning white.

In apparent response to Hagrid's outburst, there was a knock on the door. Dumbledore answered it and Harry gasped. Ron clapped a hand over his mouth.

Lucius Malfoy strode through the doorway, giving a disdainful glance around the hut. Fang growled at him, hackles raised. "Ah, Minister, good to see you here already. "Good. Very good."

"Get outta my house!" Hagrid growled.

"I'd rather be anywhere but this…house, you say?" Mr. Malfoy sneered at the last words. "I came here because I was informed that the headmaster was here."

"What did you want with me?" Dumbledore asked, with a hint of impatience.

"Terrible things, Dumbledore, that under your watch, there have been four Muggle-born attacks. The governors have been discussing and feel that it's time for you to retire. I have"-he produced a official document from within his robes and handed it to Dumbledore-"an Order of Suspension. All twelve signatures by the governors are on there. We should see if the next headmaster has a-ah-better time stopping these attacks. After all, we all want these attacks to stop."

"We don't want Dumbledore suspended, no, no that's the last thing we want." Fudge blustered.

"The decision is with the governors, Fudge." Mr. Malfoy continued. "Since Dumbledore has not been able to stop the attacks, we feel there is a need of change."

"If Dumbledore can't stop them, who can?" Fudge blustered.

"It is done, all twelve governors voted-"

"How many did you coerce and blackmail to get those signatures?" Hagrid demanded, leaping to his feet and pointing a finger at him.

"I wouldn't shout at the Azkaban guards like that, Hagrid, that temper might get you in trouble." Mr. Malfoy answered, silkily.

"If you take Dumbledore there'll be killins' next!" Hagrid growled. "There's not going to be anything stoppin' the attacks!"

"Enough, Hagrid!" Dumbledore said, sharply. He looked at Mr. Malfoy. "If the governors wish me gone, I shall leave."

He ignored the immediate reaction from Hagrid and Fudge and continued. "If anyone cares to know, I will never be truly gone as long as there is one person loyal to me. They can find help if they know where to look."

Dumbledore went to the door and stepped out, followed by Mr. Malfoy. Fudge paused at the door, waiting on Hagrid. "If anyone wants to look fer things, you know, all they gotta do is follow the spiders." Hagrid said, loudly, before following Fudge as well.

As the door shut behind them, Harry whipped off the Invisibility Cloak. "This is bad, really bad. With Dumbledore and Hagrid gone, we've got no chance."

Fang howled and scratched at the door.


	18. Spinning a Web of Truth

Chapter 18: Spinning a Web of Truth

As summer arrived on the grounds of Hogwarts castle, the mood inside the castle improved; except for Neville, Harry, and Ron. The sight of Hagrid's empty hut was a constant reminder that he was absent, only less obvious to his empty chair at the staff table at dinner. The only thing that made matters worse was the fact that Madam Pomfrey barred any visitors to the hospital wing.

"I'm sorry, boys. I can't risk someone attacking these poor people again." Madam Pomfrey shook her head, shooing them away.

One person seemed to be happy about the headmaster being gone. Malfoy spent the next Potions class gloating over how his father helped suspend Dumbledore. "Professor, I'm sure I can convince my father to make you headmaster next. He _is _after all, a governor, and I have spoken so fondly about you to him." He said, loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

"Now, now, Draco. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will be back with us before long." Professor Richman chided, a small smile playing across his lips as he swept around the dungeon.

As Harry, Ron, and Neville packed their bags and let the dungeon, Harry turned to them as they were escorted by Richman to their next class, Herbology. "I've been thinking about the last words Dumbledore and Hagrid said before they left…"

"Yeah, what about it?" Ron asked.

"Hagrid's is easy enough, just follow the spiders. But I don't get what Dumbledore meant." Harry frowned.

"Following the spiders is easier said than done. Have you noticed that there has been no sign of spiders since the attacks?" Neville asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Without the spiders, we can't take Hagrid's advice. We'll have to keep an eye out for them." Harry pointed out, quietly.

Richman escorted the Gryffindors to Herbology and left to take the Slytherins to their next class. As the three gathered around the nearest plant they were working with for that lesson, Ernie leaned over toward them. "Look, Neville, I'm sorry I thought you were the Heir of Slytherin. I know you wouldn't attack Hermione."

Neville looked around, noticing that Justin and Hermione's absence was more obvious in Herbology class. "It's okay, Ernie. I don't blame you for believing it was me." He gave a small smile, which Ernie returned.

Neville was disrupted by Harry, who whacked him with a trowel. "Hey, what was that?" He grumbled, turning to Harry.

But Harry was pointing to the window ledge of the greenhouse, where a line of spiders were scuttling up the wall and through the window. "They look like they're heading to the forest." He said, following the line of sight.

"We can't skive class to follow them, we'll get caught for certain." Neville pointed out, concerned.

"Lockhart's next, I'm sure we can figure out some way to get away from him." Ron muttered. "He'd do anything for you, Neville."

"Don't remind me." Neville muttered darkly.

After lunch, they had Defense Against the Arts. Lockhart was escorting the Gryffindors to their next class, complaining loudly about having to take time out of his schedule. "I don't see why I have to escort you students to your next class. Hagrid attacked those students, and I'm sure when they wake up, that's the first thing they'll say."

"You're right." Harry said at once, making the other students stare. "We're almost there, there's no need to escort us all the way there."

"Good point, Harry. I'll leave you here to go-er-finish my lesson plan." Lockhart bustled away.

"More like he's going to curl his hair." Harry muttered, as the class moved on, leaving the three of them behind. "Let's go, and keep an eye out for the spiders."

The three of them hurried out of the castle, not meeting anyone on their way. At the greenhouses, they spotted the line of spiders scurrying toward the forest. They followed carefully, entering the forest. Soon the forest enclosed on them, leaving the forest dark as night. "Lumos!" Harry whispered, lighting the tip of his wand. Neville did the same.

"Sorry, I don't think I should." Ron said sheepishly, holding up his Spellotaped wand.

"Good idea, we don't want any mishaps." Harry nodded. "Stay close."

The three boys continued following the line of spiders through the forest by the light of the two wands. They ventured further than any of them had ever gone before in their previous trips into the forest. The spiders scattered finally in a little grove deep in the heart of the forest. "Where did they lead us?" Neville asked, shining his lit wand up into the trees. Great white cobwebs hung from the branches above, giving him a sense of unease.

"H-Harry? N-Neville?" Ron stammered, sounding terrified. Neville felt a tug on his robe sleeve.

"Shh, I'm trying to figure out where we are." Neville hissed.

"H-Harry!" Ron pleaded, sounding more terrified by the second.

"What?" Harry demanded, turning around. His mouth dropped open and he tugged on Neville's robe sleeve as well.

"What?" Neville asked, turning to see what the alarm was. His lit wand caught dozens of shining black eyes as the narrow beams of light encompassed spiders crawling into the grove. Enormous spiders crawled in to surround them as a gravelly voice grumbled, over clicking sounds, _"Who goes there?"_

The three boys spun around and saw a giant of a spider appear at the other entrance, which was covered in spiderwebs. Each of the eight eyes was milky and they realized the spider was blind.

"_Strangers."_ Another voice sounded, the clicking more prominent this time. _"Three boys."_

"_Kill them. They interrupted my sleep."_ The blind spider grumbled.

"Hagrid sent us!" Harry called out in panic. "He sent us to find you!"

"_Hagrid sent you? He knows not to send men into my forest."_ This time the spider's voice sounded intrigued.

"Hagrid is in trouble. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again and he is being blamed." Neville piped up. "They think he opened it."

"_Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He has been kind to all creatures, even me. He hatched me from an egg he received as a boy."_ There was almost a fondness in the spider's voice as he spoke this time.

"If Hagrid didn't open the Chamber of Secrets, who did?" Neville asked, confused.

"_I do not know."_ The spider sounded angry this time, the pincer clicking so fast it was hard to decipher the words.

"Wait, if you're not the monster within the chamber, what is?" Harry inquired.

"_We spiders do not speak of it. It is an ancient creature that plagues our kind. We fear no other creature more than it. Fifty years ago, the last time that it roamed the castle, it killed a girl. She was found in a bathroom and Hagrid was blamed for someone else's actions and he placed me in the forest for protection. Thanks to him, I found my wife Mosag, and we spawned a whole generation of spiders."_ The spider clicked its pincers rapidly as it spoke.

Ron whimpered, terrified. Harry and Neville noticed spiders large and small were closing in on them from all sides. "Thank you for your help. We shall take our leave and save Hagrid." Neville responded, backing a way a few steps.

"_Go?"_ The spider asked, confused_. "I think not."_

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, nervously.

"_I do not hurt Hagrid out of respect for him. But when fresh meat wanders into my forest, I cannot help but deny my children the feast. Good-bye, Hagrid's friend."_ The spider was already crawling back into its webbed cavern as the spiders swarmed closer.

Ron whimpered again as the three of them huddled together, terrified. Suddenly, twin beams of light shone in over their heads from behind them, causing the spiders to flee from the illumination.

"What is that?" Harry asked, turning around and shielding his eyes.

"I don't believe it!" Ron croaked, recognizing the source. "It's Dad's car!"

"What?" Harry asked, shocked. He hurried after Ron, Neville trailing after him. The old Ford Anglia was idling in the clearing, with its paint scratched, dents in several places, and covered in leaves, twigs, and dirt. "It looks like it's gone wild."

"Who cares, do you think it can get us out of here before the spiders come back?" Neville asked.

"Don't remind me." Ron moaned, as he got into the front seat. Harry took shotgun and Neville slipped into the backseat. "Do you reckon we should-?"

Before Ron could finish his sentence, however, the car shifted gears on its own and shot backward, spinning around to face the other direction. It trundled through the forest and onto the moonlit grounds. Once the car stopped, the three boys got out of the car and watched it disappear back into the forest.

"Well, that was a waste of time. Follow the spiders! If he ever gets out of Azkaban, I'm going to kill him myself!" Ron grumbled, looking pale.

"It wasn't a complete waste of time." Neville said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at him.

"We know one thing. Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He's innocent." Neville answered, looking between them.

Dread settled on the three of them as they realized the implications. The real culprit was still out there, waiting to attack again.


	19. Myrtle's Reminiscence

Chapter 19: Myrtle's Reminiscence

Ron, Harry, and Neville carefully made their way back to the castle and up to Gryffindor Tower. Something was bothering Neville as they got ready for bed. However, as Neville started to drift off to sleep, it occurred to him.

"Guys, wait." Neville said urgently, sitting up in bed.

"What?" Ron groaned sleepily, sitting up. He looked at him. Neville could see Harry was watching him from his bed.

"Aragog said that a girl died the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, right?" Neville asked, looking between them.

"Yeah, why?" Ron asked, slowly.

"What if she never left the bathroom?" Neville asked.

"Are you thinking it's Moaning Myrtle?" Ron gasped in surprise.

"What are the odds that a girl died in a bathroom and Moaning Myrtle haunts one?" Harry pointed out. "My mum always says there's no such thing as coincidences."

"She was three stalls away, why the bloody hell didn't we ask how she died?" Ron muttered.

"We should go now." Harry said at once.

"What?" Neville asked, while Ron exclaimed, "Are you mental?"

"With the teachers escorting us between classes, we have no chance of sneaking away. If we take my dad's cloak, we can go there and be back before anyone notices." Harry pointed out.

Ron glanced at the two sleeping forms of Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. "Okay, but we need to be careful."

Harry pulled out his Invisibility Cloak from his trunk and threw it over the three of them. They snuck out of the dormitory and through the portrait hole, trying to keep as quiet as they could. They made it to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom without being caught and slipped inside. They could hear Myrtle sobbing from a nearby toilet. "Myrtle?" Neville asked, pulling the cloak off themselves.

The ghost shot out of the toilet stall, hovering above the floor in a sulky pose. "What do you three want?" she asked, gloomily. "You shouldn't be out this late at night."

"We wanted to ask you how you-" Harry looked at Ron and Neville.

"How you died." Neville finished, pink coloring his cheeks.

Myrtle's transparent face lit up, as though excited to have been asked the question. "No one has ever asked me that before. It's a dreadful tale, and none too happy."

"Is there any happy death story?" Ron muttered, but Neville ignored him.

"Please tell us." Neville persisted.

"Very well, then. I was in here crying one afternoon after Potions because Olive Hornby made fun of my glasses. While I was sitting in the stall, someone came in and I heard a boy say something in a strange language. I didn't understand it, but I knew he shouldn't be here. I opened the door to tell him off for being in a girl's bathroom and-I died."

"Did you see anything?" Ron asked, excitedly.

"There was a pair of giant yellow eyes, coming from that sink over there." Myrtle pointed to a nearby sink, situated in front of the stall she occupied.

Harry hurried over to the sink to study the sink closely. "There's a serpent there! This must be it!"

"But we still don't know what is down there." Ron pointed out, nervously. "It could be an-"

Ron was interrupted by a noise outside the bathroom in the corridor. Neville waved frantically to the other two and they ducked under the Invisibility Cloak. They waited until the noise had faded away before sneaking out of the bathroom and back up to their dormitory.

"We better go to sleep. We will have to keep an eye out for more clues." Harry said, nervously, as he climbed into bed.

"Fair point, that's really all I can do." Neville sighed, crawling into bed. "We'll have to be on the lookout."

The next day wiped all thoughts of keeping a lookout from the boys mind. Once the Transfiguration class had settled in their seats, Professor McGonagall announced, "Madam Pomfrey just informed me this morning that the Mandrakes are ready to be stewed. The poor Petrified will be revived tonight."

Excited murmurs rumbled through the classroom and Professor McGonagall's glasses flashed. "Now, I know we're all excited to get the students back, I must warn you that they may very well point the finger at the culprit. For now, we must get back to our lesson."

Harry, Ron, and Neville sighed and set to work on the practice Professor McGonagall assigned them. After class, she escorted them to the Great Hall for lunch.

As Ron, Neville, and Harry ate lunch, Ginny settled down beside them, looking nervously. "I need to talk to you." She whispered, looking urgent.

"What is it?" Harry asked, anxiously.

Ginny looked around, fidgeting nervously. Percy interrupted them by sitting down across from them. "I absolutely cannot believe that the prefects are still having to do guard duty at night. I am ex-hau-sted." Percy yawned. "Pass me the roll, Harry."

Ginny jumped up at Percy's arrival, scurrying off with a backward, anxious glance.

"Why did you scare her off like that?" Ron demanded. "She was about to tell us something important!"

"I'm sure it wasn't that important." Percy dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Pass me the rolls."

"What was she going to say, Percy?" Neville asked.

After a dull lesson where Professor Lockhart read from his books, he escorted them to Potions. "I don't see why the teachers have to escort you to your classes. The attacks have stopped, so clearly the guilty has been caught." Professor Lockhart rambled, as he walked them down the corridor.

"I totally agree, Professor." Neville nodded, startling Ron and Harry.

"So you wouldn't mind if I leave you hear to find your way? It's just around the corner after all. I have to get my lesson plan ready." Lockhart bustled away, touching his hair anxiously.

"More like crimp his hair." Ron muttered, as Lockhart disappeared around the corner.

"We better go check out the bathroom again." Harry told the other two quietly. "Might as well take advantage of being free of Lockhart."

The three boys snuck away from the group, heading toward Myrtle's bathroom. As the rounded a corner, Professor McGonagall spotted them on her way down the hall. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom. What are you three doing here? Why aren't you in Potions?"

"We, um…" Ron floundered for an excuse.

"We wanted to go see Hermione. With the restrictions on visitors at the hospital wing, we haven't seen her for ages." Harry piped up, thinking quickly.

To their surprise, Professor McGonagall's expression softened. "Of course, it must be hard on you not having Hermione with you. Yes, go ahead. Tell Poppy I've given you permission.

Unable to believe their luck, the three boys hurried away. Before they rounded a corner, they heard Professor McGonagall sniff.

"I don't see why you would want to talk to Hermione. Petrified victims can't _hear_ you." Madam Pomfrey insisted, but reluctantly let them in.

Ron moaned a little as he sat in the chair beside Hermione's bed. "Hermione…"

"I wonder if she saw her attacker." Neville sighed sadly.

Harry caught sight of something in Hermione's hand and caught their attention. "Look, she was clutching something when she was attacked." He pointed out.

Ron and Neville blocked the door. "Go ahead and see if you can get it out." Ron urged.

Harry struggled to get the object out, taking care to not tear it. Finally, he pulled free a piece of parchment, which came from a book. "It's a page from a book." He told them, unfolding it.

"Read it!" Neville and Ron urged.

Harry read it out loud to them, eyes widening at the implications. "She figured it out! It's a basilik! Everything that has happened this year fits! Spiders flee from it, roosters been killed. Hermione, you're a genius!"

"Wait, if it's a basilisk, how's a giant snake been getting around all this time?" Ron asked, confused. "You would think someone would have noticed a great serpent slithering through the castle."

"Hermione figured that out too. Pipes." Harry pointed out, indicating the note at the bottom in Hermione's handwriting.

"Wait, that's why I've been hearing it!" Neville said excitedly. "It's a snake, and I'm a Parseltongue. I've been hearing it through the walls!"

"We've got to go let the staff know, they should know what is down there." Harry said urgently. "Let's go wait in the staffroom in case they go there."

The three boys hurried out of the hospital wing and down to the staff room. The room was empty and they waited for the bell to ring. None came. Instead, a voice announced over the intercom. "_All students report to their common room. All staff report to the staffroom at once."_

The boys exchanged looks. "What is going on? Something else couldn't have happened, could it?" Ron asked, anxiously.

"They're coming here, we need to hide!" Harry pulled them toward the cabinet that stood in a corner. They slipped inside and closed the door as the staffroom door opened.

"What's happened, Minerva?" Professor Flitwick asked, in his squeaky voice.

"A girl has been taken by the monster. A note was left on the wall outside the first attack. _Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever._" Professor McGonagall's voice responded, though it shook slightly.

"Who is it?" Professor Richman asked.

"Ginny Weasley." Professor McGonagall responded grimly.

Neville felt Ron sink to the bottom of the cabinet with a little moan.


	20. The Underground Chamber

Chapter 20: The Underground Chamber

Neville listened closer as Professor McGonagall continued. "I am afraid that this could be the end of Hogwarts. I'll have to arrange for the Hogwarts Express to take the students home. There's no other option, unless Gilderoy is willing to go after the Heir of Slytherin himself?"

"Me? Why would I do that?" Lockhart sounded startled.

"You have always said you know who the Heir is and where the entrance to the chamber is. We should just let you have at it and get it all cleared up."

"I-I don't think we need to be that drastic." Lockhart stammered.

"Nonsense, we need immediate action to save her." Professor Richman answered at once.

"I-well…I better go to my office and prepare…" Lockhart sounded nervous as he left the room.

"Well, I need to talk to my House and inform them on what's going on. You three better do the same. Then we'll formulate a plan, since I doubt Lockhart will do the job." The door opened and Neville heard the professors leave the staffroom.

Neville opened the cabinet door and stepped out, followed by Ron and Harry. Ron looked pale. "What do we do now?" Ron asked, anxiously. "We have to save my sister.

"We're going to do that, I promise." Harry nodded. "We should tell Lockhart what we know so he can be prepared if he's taking on the chamber."

The boys ran up the stairs to Lockhart's office. They arrived there to find Lockhart's walls bare and the trunks open, half packed with clothes and photographs. "Professor, what are you doing? Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked, shocked.

Lockhart started, looking to the door. "Oh boys, sorry I can't talk. I have urgent business in London that can't delay. I have to leave immediately."

"What about my sister!" Ron yelled. "You're just going to let her die?"

"No one regrets it more than me, but there's nothing I can do!" Lockhart protested, returing to his packing.

"How can you say that when you did all those things you wrote about?" Harry demanded, angrily.

"My dear, none of my books would have sold as well as they did if I told them the truth. The people who did those things were pathetic nobodies that didn't have an ounce of celebrity status. I had to do a few memory charms once I got the story out of them. I couldn't let them blab that they were really the ones who did those things."

"You took credit for what other people did? That's-"

"How things are done in the real world. You are children and you have no idea how the real world works." Lockhart looked at them coldly. "Let me show y-"

Neville raised his wand, pointing it at Lockhart, cutting him off. "We're not going to let you leave Ginny to the monster. You're going to come with us. Now."

"Where are we going?" Lockhart asked, nervously, eyeing the wand.

"We're going to the Chamber of Secrets. You may not know where it is, but we have a good idea. Now go."

Lockhart stumbled as he walked out of the office with Neville, Ron, and Harry behind him. Neville kept his wand pointed at him.

They led Lockhart to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and shut the door behind them. "Harry, keep your wand on him while I open the Chamber." Neville told Harry before turning to the sink. "Open." He ordered the serpent engraving on the faucet.

Ron shook his head. "You're speaking English."

Neville concentrated on the serpent and tried again, "_Open."_

Something clicked within the sink and it began to move. It slid and shifted, leaving a large hole in the floor. "You first, Lockhart."

"You wouldn't send me first, would you?" Lockhart asked, panicking.

Harry raised the wand. "Get in or we'll push you."

Lockhart stepped back and reluctantly leapt into the hole. They watched him drop into the darkness.

Neville turned to Harry and Ron. "You guys should get help, I'll go find Ginny."

"We're going with you." Harry said at once. "You'll need help."

"And I'm not leaving my little sister down there." Ron's face was set.

"Fine, but let's hurry." Neville leapt into the hole, darkness settling quickly around him. He landed with a crackle of something beneath him. He lit his wand and realized he'd landed on a floor scattered with small animal bones. He heard a cry from above and dodged out of the way as Harry fell and landed on the bone-strewn floor as well. Ron landed shortly after.

"Where are we?" Ron asked, looking around.

"Under the school, I expect. Close your eyes quickly if you see movement." Neville led the way.

As they rounded the curve in the tunnel, they saw a huge snake skin, at least thirty feet long. Lockhart dropped to the floor. "What's up with him?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow at the other two.

As they shrugged, Lockhart leapt to his feet, snatching Ron's wand from his slack grip. "Aha, game's over, boys. This is where your adventure ends. I'll wipe your memory and come back with the snake skin as proof. I'll say that you lost your minds at the sight of the girl's mangled body when it was too late. _Obliviate!"_

A blast like a gunshot sounded, as well as a flash of light. The ceiling collapsed, separating Neville and the other three. "Ron! Harry!" Neville cried, trying to disturb the rocks in the way.

"Go on ahead and save my sister, we'll be fine!" Ron called back. "We'll try to get the way clear for you to return!"

"Stay safe." Neville urged, before hurrying on down the tunnel. He reached another doorway, with serpentine engravings. Knowing what to do this time, Neville said, "_Open._"

The snakes slid back into place and the door opened, revealing a large chamber with large columns and emitting a greenish light. He stepped inside, the door closing behind him with a _clunk._

"_Ginny!" _Neville cried, spotting the flaming-haired figure lying on the ground at the feet of a large bearded statue. The diary lay beside her. He ran over and knelt beside her, flinging his wand aside to touch her. She was ice cold. "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead!"

"She won't wake." A soft voice replied from behind him.

Neville looked back and saw the dark-haired figure of a teenage boy, shimmering in and out of focus as though not quite there. "Tom Riddle, what are you doing here? You've got to help me, there's a giant snake and we need to help-"

"The snake won't come until it's called." Tom answered softly, his eyes hungrily examining Neville's face. Neville's wand was pointing at his face. "Neville Longbottom, the boy who stopped the Dark Lord."

"What are you doing with my wand? Give it back." Neville insisted, but ignored him.

"I wondered how a toddler could destroy such a powerful wizard. I had to see you for myself. But you are an average boy, not worthy of my time." Tom idly twirled the wand in his hand.

"What do you care about You-Know-Who? He was after your time." Neville frowned.

"Is that what you are calling him these days?" Tom made a face. "Voldemort is my past, present, and future." With Neville's wand, he wrote in the air, forming the words: "Tom Marvolo Riddle"With a wave of the wand, he made the letters rearrange themselves until they said: _"I am Lord Voldemort."_ "Did you expect me to keep my filthy Muggle father's name. No, as soon as I could, I chose a name wizards above all would fear! Even Dumbledore has left the castle for fear of me."

"He didn't fear you, in any time." Neville spat. "Whatever you're going to do, just do it. Leave Ginny alone."

"Ah…" Tom looked down at Ginny, a smirk toying at the corners of his lips. "I almost forgot about little Ginny. How she poured her heart out into my diary and ensured my return to life."

"What do you mean?" Neville asked, confused.

"Ginny has been writing to me for months, pouring out her little twelve-year-old soul into the pages of the diary I wrote while at Hogwarts. Until I was able to leave the pages completely. Of course, she had no clue what she was doing at first. She didn't know that it was her that was attacking Muggle-borns in the castle and on that cat."

"Ginny opened the Chamber of Secrets? But how?" Neville frowned, trying to distract Tom so he could formulate a plan.

"I told her how. Let's just say I was a big influence on her." Tom laughed, a cold mirthless laugh that rang off the walls. "She was afraid of what ways the diary was changing her so she threw it away. However, when the diary was opened, who did I meet? You. The one person I wanted to meet above all. And here we are."

"So you lured Ginny into the Chamber of Secrets." Neville gritted his teeth.

"I convinced her to write her own good-bye message and come down here to wait for you. And here you are." Tom smiled. "Now, like you said, we shall go on with whatever I want to do with you."

Tom turned to the bearded statue and said, "_Greatest Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin! Let forth your great serpent and slay my enemy!"_

Though Tom was speaking in Parseltongue, Neville understood very word. As the mouth of the statue opened wide, Neville shut his eyes tight and ran. Something was slithering from the depths of the statue, landing with a thud that shook the chamber floor. Neville hid behind a column as he heard hissing. _"Kill him."_

Neville held still, listening. As he heard the snake approach, he dove. The snake dove as well, missing Neville by inches. He knew he couldn't outrun the snake forever and had no idea what he was going to do.

"You can run but my basilisk will find you!" Tom called as Neville ran to another column.

_What am I going to do? I need help, anything._ Neville thought desperately.

A musical cry echoed in the chamber, forcing Neville's eyes open. A scarlet-and-gold bird the size of a swan flew through the chamber, carrying a lumpy package in its talons. It flew over his head, dropping the bundle in Neville's outstretched arms. Neville hurriedly unfolded the bundle as the sounds of hissing sounded behind him, punctuated by the musical calls of the bird.

"It's the Sorting hat…" Neville gasped in shock, as he found himself holding the frayed wizard's hat. "How is that going to help me?"

"Your savior sent you a bird and the Sorting hat. Boy does Dumbledore love you." Tom sounded amused. "Good luck using those items, Neville. They won't stop my basilisk from killing you."

Neville jammed the hat on his head. _Please, give me something to help!_ He thought desperately.

The hat suddenly contracted hard, and something hit Neville hard in the head. Seeing stars, he pulled the hat off, reaching for the object and found a handle. A glittering silver sword with rubies on the hilt had appeared out of the hat. Scrambling to his feet, he turned, keeping his eyes narrowed. The bird dove, sinking its beak into one of the snake's bulbous yellow eyes. A shower of blood spattered the floor. The basilisk hissed angrily as the bird dove again, blinding it.

Neville opened his eyes, and saw the basilisk's ruined eyes, still streaming blood. _"You can still smell him! Sniff him out, you foolish creature."_

The great snake swayed while the bird flew around it before diving for Neville one more time. Neville drove the sword forward, thrusting the sword deep into the basilisk's mouth. Pain seared through his right arm as he pulled the sword out. He looked down and saw a foot-long fang buried in his arm. The snake swayed a moment longer before falling to the floor with a thud that made the floor shudder again.

The chamber swam before Neville's eyes as the venom began to spread through his body. He dropped the sword and sank to the floor, growing weak He pulled the fang out of his arm. "You're dying, Neville Longbottom. And there is no one to save you this time." Tom said quietly.

The bird landed beside Neville, resting its head on his injured arm. "Get away from him, bird!" Tom ordered, trying to shoo the bird away. A tear rolled off its feathers and landed on his arm, followed by several others. The wound healed. "Phoenix tears, I forgot…"

Neville gripped the fang with the remainder of his strength. Raising it over his head, he plunged the tip into the heart of the diary. Ink spurted from the cover, where the venom burned a hole through the book. He plunged it again and again, until his strength gave out. Tom gave a horrendous shriek and burst in a flash of light. He was gone.

Ginny woke up with a start, sitting up and looking around. Her eyes widened at the sight of Neville's blood-soaked arm. "Neville, you're bleeding."

"It's nothing, don't worry." Neville answered. "We better get out of here, everyone is worried about you."

"Oh no!" Ginny moaned, horrified. "It's all my fault! I was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets! I'm going to be expelled for sure, and I've been wanting to go ever since Bill started school."

"It's all over, Ginny. We need to get back to the others. Harry, your brother, and Lockhart are waiting on back there."

"Can you walk?" Ginny asked, anxiously.

"I think so." Neville got to his feet and picked up the hat, sword, and diary before following Ginny. They exited the inner chamber and reached the blockage. They could hear a frantic removal of the rubble. "Ron, Harry? You okay?"

The noise stopped and Ron said, "We're fine, did you find Ginny?"

"Yeah, she's with me. Can you get us a way out?" Neville asked.

With Neville's help, they managed to get a space wide enough for Neville, Ginny, and the bird to get through. Harry stopped at the sight of the bird coming in. "Is that a phoenix?" he asked.

"That's what it is? Are you Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix?" Neville asked, gazing into the bird's intelligent black eyes. The bird made a trilling musical note as if in answer. "How is Lockhart?" He asked, turning to the other two.

"His memory charm backfired, he's lost his memory." Ron gave a disgusted look at Lockhart, who was sitting on the floor, looking bewildered.

"How are we going to get back up to the bathroom?" Neville asked, looking between them.

"Phoenixes can carry immense loads, I bet Fawkes can fly us up there." Harry pointed out. "What? My dad told me about phoenixes. Let's hold hands and I'll grab Fawkes's tail feather."

The group did so and Fawkes took flight, pulling them with it. In mere minutes, they were back on solid ground in the bathroom. "What now?" Ginny asked, shivering.

"We go to the headmaster's office." Harry answered.

"It must be really late, though. And Dumbledore's still gone." Ron pointed out.

"I have a feeling he's back. Who else could have sent Fawkes?" Harry answered.

They headed to the headmaster's office and Neville gave the password "sherbert lemon." Taking the moving spiral staircase up to the top, he knocked on the door. "Come in."

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley, cried as they stepped in. She hurried over. Mr. and Mrs. Weasey had been waiting with Lily, James, Sirius, and Augusta for them to arrive. "My word, you're freezing! What happened?"

"I-I was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, Mum, I didn't mean to!" Ginny cried, her eyes welling up with tears.

"You? What-I don't understand-how could that happen?" Mrs. Weasley looked confused as she looked back at Dumbledore questioningly.

"Through this." Neville held up the ruined diary. "It was possessing her."

Mr. Weasley looked outraged. "Didn't I always tell you, Ginny? Never trust an item that can think for itself if you don't see where its brain is!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Ginny cried. "Please don't expel me, headmaster. I didn't mean to do it."

"You're not expelled, Ginny. However, I would like to have Madam Pomfrey check you out to make sure there are no lasting damages. The people that were Petrified are waking up as we speak and she can tend to you in the hospital wing."

Ginny nodded and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley led them out. Mrs. Weasley paused at the door. "Neville, Harry, Ron, thank you for saving Ginny."

"It was Neville who did the saving, not us." Ron shrugged.

Once the door was closed behind them, Dumbledore looked back at Neville. "May I see that diary?" Neville passed the diary to the headmaster and watched while he examined it. "I see. This is a powerful magical object. No wonder Ginny was possessed. Explain what happened in the chamber, Neville."

Neville explained the events that happened. When he finished, Dumbledore nodded. "Good thing you destroyed it, Neville. I am not surprised that Riddle was interested in you. You share a lot of common qualities. You both come from pure-blood lines, his from Salazar Slytherin himself. You both speak Parseltongue."

"Why is that?" Neville asked, curious.

"You speak Parseltongue because Voldemort speaks it." Dumbledore said mildly. "If I am correct, he passed a bit of his own power on to you when he attacked you."

"Can Harry go? He's tired and needs some rest." Lily insisted, drawing Dumbledore's attention to her. "Thank you for making sure my son made it back alive, Neville, but he needs his rest."

"Yes, go on, Harry. We'll talk later." Dumbledore nodded, and Lily, James, and Sirius left with Harry. The door had been closed for only a few minutes when Lucius Malfoy burst in, a house-elf behind him. "Lucius." Dumbledore nodded to him. Neville saw that the house-elf was Dobby. He was pointing frantically behind Malfoy's back at the diary and at Malfoy, hitting his head with his other tiny fist.

"So, you came back. After the governors ordered you away." Malfoy sneered, looking down his nose at Dumbledore.

"I did. The governors sent me a letter claiming that they needed me back after Ginny Weasley was taken, saying that they made a hasty decision under the threat on their families. So I hastened my return to ensure that the culprit was caught."

"And was he caught?" Malfoy asked, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"Indeed he has." Dumbledore nodded.

"And who was it?" Malfoy asked, mildly, though his face twitched as though fighting irritation.

"The same person it was last time. Voldemort. It seems that one of his personal possessions wound up in the hands of one of the students. You don't know anything about that, do you?"

"Why would I?" Malfoy scowled, clearly not liking the accusation.

"You slipped the diary into Ginny's cauldron that day in Diagon Alley." Neville said at once, turning Malfoy's attention to him.

"You'll have a hard time proving it." Malfoy spat.

"Oh, there's no way to prove it, now that the diary has been destroyed." Dumbledore said, grimly. "However," he paused, as Malfoy turned away. He turned back. "If one of Voldemort's possessions wind up in the hands of one of my students' hands again, I will personally make sure it is linked back to you."

Malfoy swept from the office, ordering over his shoulder, "Dobby, come now."

Dobby gazed at Neville as he was forced to obey. "Professor, can I have that a moment?" Neville asked, pointing to the diary.

"Go ahead, Neville." Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling.

Neville hurried out of the office. He pulled off his soggy shoe and sock, slipping it between the ruined pages. He spotted Malfoy at the end of the hall with Dobby following behind him. "Mr. Malfoy, wait up! I want to have a word."

"Oh, it's you." Malfoy sneered, turning back to him. "What is it now? Another unfounded accusation?"

"I wanted you to have this." Neville handed him the diary.

"Why would I want this?" Malfoy asked, passing the diary to Dobby. "Come now, Dobby."

Neville pointed to the diary in Dobby's hands. Dobby opened the diary and picked up the sock, amazed. "Dobby? Come _now!"_ Malfoy ordered.

"Master has given Dobby a sock! Dobby is free!" Dobby squeaked, tears welling in his big green eyes.

"What?" Malfoy spun on his heel. Neville lifted up his pant leg, showing the lack of sock. "You lost me my servant!"

As Malfoy reached for his wand, Dobby pointed a threatening finger. "Come near Neville Longbottom, and it will be the last thing you do!" he squeaked, sending a bolt of light, which knocked Malfoy backward. Malfoy climbed to his feet, gracelessly walking away.

"Neville Longbottom freed Dobby, sir!" Dobby looked up at Neville with watery adoration. "How can Dobby ever repay Neville Longbottom?"

"One thing, Dobby." Neville cracked again. "Never try to save my life again."

"Of course, sir!" Dobby said happily, and with a _crack,_ he was gone.

Hermione arrived midway through the celebration feast along with the other Petrified people, shouting, "You figured it out!" Hagrid showed up late in the night, crushing them in a bear hug. "Couldn't have made it without you three." He grinned, his beetle black eyes glittering.

"It was all thanks to you two. You told us to follow the spiders and you figured out that it was a snake." Neville grinned at the two of them.

The train pulled into King's Cross station after leaving Hogsmeade station earlier that day. Students leaned against the barrier between platforms nine and ten and slipped through in small groups. James, Lily, Sirius, Augusta, and the Weasleys were waiting for them on the other side and they were greeted. "I hope next year is less eventful than this." Harry sighed, being hugged by Lily.

"I really hope so, otherwise I will not be able to handle Hogwarts." Neville shook his head. "See you this summer?"

"Can't wait." Hermione grinned, giving them a hug.


End file.
